CARSON CITY — During Wednesday’s public federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services says it learned that a Nevadan was one of the six reported serious reactions to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
The state of Nevada was not informed of the reported reaction until the live, public meeting on Wednesday, according to the Nevada Health Response team. At that time, it was reported that the person in Nevada is an 18-year-old woman who reported a blood clot and a hemorrhage without an immediate word of recovery.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint statement recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine while six serious reactions were investigated.
Also on Tuesday, the state of Nevada paused the use of the vaccine.
"Right now, the risk of death from the disease is very high. The risk of the vaccinations very, very low," said Dr. Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "We don't want to say that you shouldn't be concerned at all about it, of course; that's why we're looking into things, but we're talking about something that is a very rare event if it is indeed related to the vaccine.“
Following Wednesday’s ACIP announcement, the Nevada Health Response team says DHHS immediately reached out to federal partners for more information and to understand why the report was not provided to the state.
"Whether the case was identified in Nevada or California or Arizona, that still matters to everybody, not just Nevadans," Labus said. "We need to look at what happened nationwide. And is not like Nevada has a role in investigating that one case, this is something that needs to be investigated through the FDA the manufacture to make sure that the vaccine is safe to everyone nationwide."
As of Monday, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been administered in the United States.
Anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last month and develops a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.
Health care providers are required to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System here.
This story was originally published by Jordan Gartner on KTNV in Las Vegas.