#New York halts use of Johnson & Johnson vaccines

New York will halt the use of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine after federal health officials raised concerns about a possible link to blood clots, the state health commissioner said Tuesday — and Gov. Andrew Cuomo stressed that people with appointments for J&J will be offered Pfizer jabs.

“New York State will follow the CDC and FDA recommendation and pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine statewide immediately today while these health and safety agencies evaluate next steps,” State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said in a statement.

Zucker said that the state will continue to seek guidance from the federal government and “will update New Yorkers as more information becomes available.”

New Yorkers who signed up for appointments to receive the Jonhson & Johnson state-run mass vaccination sites for Tuesday will instead be able to get the Pfizer vaccine, Zucker said.

“IMPORTANT: If you have an appointment TODAY at a State-run mass vaccination site for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you will be offered the Pfizer vaccine instead. You do NOT need to cancel your appointment,” Cuomo said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, other sites have been forced to scrap appointments.

CVS said Tuesday that the pharmacy chain will temporarily stop administering the jab in line with the guidance.

“We are immediately implementing a pause in the use of the Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine per the recommendation from federal health agencies,” a CVS spokeswoman told The Post.

Wegmans also canceled any previously scheduled Johnson & Johnson appointments at their locations, news station WROC reported.

The Food and Drug Administration first announced Tuesday that federal facilities will temporarily stop administering the Johnson & Johnson shot after six women developed blood clots, including one who died, The New York Times reported.

“Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” the agency tweeted in a joint statement tweeted in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    

The patients affected were women between the ages of 18 and 48 who developed the clots within about two weeks of vaccination, the Times reported.

“As the CDC and FDA have said, any adverse events related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘appear to be extremely rare’ and, ‘People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider,’” Zucker said.