The Massachusetts Department of Public Health followed the advice of federal authorities on Tuesday and ordered a stop to the administration of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.
“The Department of Public Health is notifying all Massachusetts providers to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, effective immediately,” the agency said in a tweet.
In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination.
More than 181,000 people in Massachusetts have received the J&J vaccine as of Monday, according to state data.
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the clotting cases. The FDA has launched an investigation into the cause of the clots.
