Dear Students,
Out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine earlier this morning. This announcement comes after six reported incidents in the U.S. of a rare and severe type of blood clot occurring in women ranging in age from 18 to 48. Symptoms of these occurrences came within 6 to 13 days following the receipt of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
As I communicated on Saturday, April 10, Cayuga Health System (CHS) and the Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) had planned to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine during “College Student Vaccination Day” on Thursday, April 15. Due to the national pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we are sorry to announce that the event has been cancelled. Ithaca College will continue to work with its local partners to identify future clinic opportunities for the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccine series.
Although unfortunate that we will be unable to partner in this special event at this time, I encourage all of our students to continue to seek vaccination opportunities through the Tompkins County Vaccine Registry, New York State vaccination sites, or local pharmacies. It is important to note that this pause is specific to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine will continue to be made available to anyone 16 years and older and the Moderna vaccine to those 18 years and older in New York State. Students who have enrolled in the Tompkins County Vaccine Registry may be contacted from the swift911@tompkins-co.org email account for the opportunity to receive either of these two-dose vaccine options, depending on availability, at the Shops at the Ithaca Mall site. We will not be able to offer direct transportation to the mall as had been planned for College Student Vaccination Day. A description of other transportation options is available here.
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. with complications being exceedingly rare. The CDC announced that it will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. The FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.
Students who have previously received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine should visit the TCHD website for more information. If students who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the past three weeks experience severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, and/or shortness of breath, they should seek prompt medical attention at the nearest emergency department. For our students, Cayuga Medical Center, 101 Dates Drive, is the nearest location.
Please know that the Hammond Health Center is here to support you with any particular questions or concerns you may have. You can contact us at healthcenter@ithaca.edu or by phone at 607-274-3177. I also encourage students with particular questions related to their personal health to contact their home health care provider.
Thank you for understanding during this challenging time. We will continue to share pertinent updates as they become available.
Sincerely,
Ellyn Sellers-Selin, MD
Medical Director
Center for Counseling, Health and Wellness
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