205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 04/13/2021 - Kittitas County is aware of and following the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) recommendation to pause the use of J & J vaccine. The recommendation is a result of six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. Kittitas County will not be using the J&J vaccine during the pause and will reach out to all medical providers in Kittitas County to ensure the same. Any vaccination appointments that were scheduled for J&J will be switched to Moderna or Pfizer until further notice.
According to a joint statement from the (CDC) and FDA, As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given. More information can be found via the FDA’s website at www.fda.gov or the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov. The Incident Management Team (IMT) will be following the information closely and assures the public that J&J will not be utilized in Kittitas County during the recommended pause.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer, 509-962-7515