Colorado vaccination site closes early after reactions to Johnson & Johnson vaccine
'We followed our protocols and in an abundance of caution, made the decision'
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A vaccination site in Colorado closed early Wednesday after a "limited number" of people began having adverse reactions to the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, resulting in hundreds of people who waited in line for hours being sent home without receiving a shot.
The site at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, eight miles northeast of Denver, closed around 90 minutes early at 3:30 p.m., FOX Denver 31 reported. Centra Health, which runs the site, said 11 people experienced reactions. Two people were taken to hospitals, it said.
More than 1,700 people received vaccine shots at the site Wednesday.
"Following the administration of the J&J vaccine and during onsite observation, we saw a limited number of adverse reactions to the vaccine," a statement from Centra Health to Fox News reads. "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."
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Around 640 who stood in line for a shot were sent home and had their slots rescheduled for Sunday, Centra Health said.
The company did not say how many people had reactions but said it amounted to 0.8% of those who received a vaccine dose Wednesday. It did not specify what kinds of reactions people were having.
In a statement to Fox News, Johnson & Johnson said there is "no greater priority than the safety and well-being of the people we serve, and we carefully review reports of adverse events in individuals receiving our medicines and vaccines."
Reactions to COVID-19 vaccines have been reported, with some being serious. A Virginia man was recently recovering from a hospital stay after suffering a skin reaction to what doctors believe was from a Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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A recent production error resulted in million of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses being discarded. A mix-up at Emergent BioSolutions, a production facility in Baltimore, prompted the Food and Drug Administration to delay vaccine shipments.
Around 15 million doses were ruined.