Pause of the J&J Vaccine Impacting SU Students

By Nicole Aponte

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Johnson and Johnson vaccination was put on pause by the CDC and FDA on Tuesday April 13 out of “an abundance of caution”. Six cases of rare blood clots were reported among the 7 million people who received the Johnson and Johnson immunization. Syracuse University immediately stopped administering the vaccine to students, faculty, and staff. SU received Pfizer dosages the next day, and has been giving out this vaccination since.

Syracuse University Senior Matty Monahan is more worried that this recent report of severe side effects from the vaccine will deter students away from receiving the vaccine at all. “Halting is just out of an abundance of caution, but it might scare people a little too much for no reason”, Monahan said.

SU Freshman Kyla Pearson joins Monahan, and stresses that she believes everyone should get the vaccine since the benefits outweigh the costs.

This pause directly impacts the plan for the possibility of a mass vaccination center at the Carrier Dome. County Executive Ryan McMahon originally planned for this center to open in the near future, but it just depends on the number of vaccinations the county can provide the University and the amount of workers that the county can pull from other centers across Onondaga County.

The University released in an email on Friday, April 16, that SU is anticipating to receive more dosages, which means the openings to more vaccination appointments for students. Students can pre-register for the vaccine by completing this online form. Appointments will be scheduled through text message and email, so the University urges students to keep near their devices close to their appointment. Once a student is fully vaccinated, they will be able to upload vaccination documentation to the Student Patient Portal. This initiative will allow a “normal” semester to resume in the Fall of 2021.