Following a call from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) to 'pause' use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Oneida County is changing plans when it comes to upcoming Point of Distribution (PODs).

Oneida County officials tell WIBX, county run vaccine PODs scheduled for today - Tuesday, April 13 - where the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was supposed to be administered will instead be using available doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The move comes after the FDA and CDC issued a call to temporarily halt use of the J&J vaccine after six (6) cases involving some form of blood clotting among recipients in the United States. Reports say one of the six cases resulted in death, while nearly 7 million doses of the vaccine have already been given nation-wide.


Oneida County is hosting a POD at the Parkway Recreation Center in Utica on Tuesday and officials decided to switch-out the Johnson and Johnson doses and use the Moderna supply they had on hand. Also, homebound residents scheduled to receive the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine will now be administered shots of Moderna - a two dose vaccine that must be given several weeks apart.

Meanwhile, Utica College is moving forward with its own planned POD today for members of its campus community, including faculty, staff and their families. WIBX has learned the college was also scheduled to administer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine but was able to switch to Pfizer due to an abundance of Pfizer's version of the shot, locally.

Also, officials with Mohawk Valley Health System say they will not being using the 100 doses of Johnson and Johnson that they have on hand until the issue regarding this particular version of the vaccine is sorted out.

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