OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska plans to resume using Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after federal health officials decided the shot’s benefits outweigh a rare risk of developing blood clots.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced the decision on Monday. Officials said any Nebraska vaccine provider who has Johnson & Johnson shots on hand could resume using them immediately. Federal health officials gave the OK to resume using the shots Friday.
Use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was suspended earlier this month after federal health officials documented a handful of cases, including one in Nebraska, in which women developed blood clots in the days after receiving the single-dose vaccine. Three of the women who developed blood clots later died.
While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was on hold, Nebraska directed health departments and other providers to use one of the other two approved coronavirus vaccines in its place. Those shots developed by Pfizer and Moderna have accounted for the vast majority of the 1.37 million vaccine shots given in the state.
Officials have said the J&J vaccine accounted for just about 46,000 shots in the state before its use was halted.
Over the past two weeks, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased from 342.14 new cases per day on April 10 to 322.71 new cases per day on Saturday.
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