Orange County pauses mobile distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

A mobile COVID-19 vaccine site was supposed to open at the Salvation Army in Orange County on Tuesday, but crews packed up as soon as the FDA and CDC recommended a pause on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Two state-run mobile COVID-19 vaccination sites in Orange County shut down Tuesday morning before opening their doors after the CDC and FDA recommended temporarily halting use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine sites at the Salvation Army on W Colonial Drive and Blanchard Park YMCA packed up operations within an hour of the recommendation coming down. Each site was scheduled to administer 400 doses of the J&J Covid vaccine.

The FDA and CDC recommended a pause on administering the J&J vaccine after six women who received it developed a rare and potentially dangerous blood clot. The agencies are recommending halting usage "out of an abundance of caution" and until they can further review the cases, investigate and assess their potential significance.

"I’m disappointed because I prepared my morning to come get the Covid vaccination," said Diane MacKroy. She showed up after the Salvation Army vaccination site shut down, looking to get the J&J vaccine.

MacKroy said while she understands the precaution to stop administering the vaccine, she would still get it. "It’s a concern but it’s not a deep concern because look at how many millions of people have gotten the vaccination, so it’s like a needle in the haystack."

The CDC said more than 6.8 million people have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

It is not clear if the mobile vaccine events canceled in Orange County will be rescheduled using the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Salvation Army Area Commander Captain Ken Chapman said he hopes there is a way to bring the mobile vaccine unit back to the Salvation Army. He estimates about 2,000 people have gotten vaccinated at the site over the last six weeks.

"We are welcoming anyone who wants to come give injections here. This is a great site. It’s worked well for the community."

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