Public health officials shut down a mass vaccination event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver after 11 people suffered adverse reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19.
Emergency medical personnel took two people to the hospital.
“Yesterday, 11 patients at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Community Vaccination Site experienced symptoms like nausea and dizziness after receiving the vaccine and, out of an abundance of caution, EMS transported two of the patients to the hospital for observation,” Colorado’s Department of Public Health & Environment posted to Twitter on Thursday.
The department had previously released a statement that there was “no reason to believe that people who were vaccinated today at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park should be concerned. Adverse reactions are typically immediate.”
Scott Bookman, COVID-19 incident commander with the department, also sought to calm public fears.
“We know it can be alarming to hear about people getting transported to the hospital, and we want to reassure Coloradans that the CDC and public health are closely monitoring all the authorized vaccines continually,” he said according to multiple outlets.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is the home field for the Colorado Rapids professional soccer team in Commerce City, Colorado.
According to The Denver Post, 640 people were turned away but they will be rescheduled to be vaccinated on Sunday. However, they will receive the Pfizer vaccine instead, which according to reports, had been scheduled for Sunday.
Kevin Massey, a spokesperson for Centura Health responsible for delivering the vaccine on Wednesday, said the suspension of the inoculations was merely a precaution.
“We followed our protocols and, in an abundance of caution, made the decision — in partnership with the state — to pause operations for the remainder of the day,” he said.
According to Business Insider, Johnson & Johnson was forced previously to get rid of 15 million doses due to a manufacturing error.
Johnson & Johnson told Insider it takes any adverse reactions seriously. And it will “carefully assess the events” and share its findings with the Food and Drug Administration.
“There is no greater priority than the safety and well-being of the people we serve,” the company said.
Public health officials in North Carolina also reported adverse reactions from 14 out of more than 2,300 who were vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Source: Newmax
