KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jennifer Canady was able to receive her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after hearing about a Saturday walk-in clinic on 41 Action News.
“I wasn’t hesitant at all," Canady said. "I want to stay safe. I want the people around me to stay safe. I don’t want to be the reason or the cause of someone else’s illness."
Canady told 41 Action News she was certain about getting her dose, but was only confident in two of the three vaccine options.
“I wanted to defer from the Johnson & Johnson," she said.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department said they have seen patients seek out a specific brand of the vaccine, but doctors said Pfizer, Moderna and the J&J vaccine all are safe and effective.
“It took 6 to 7 million people getting J&J before we could start to see that there might be an issue," Dr. Rex Archer, KCMO Health Department public health director, said.
The J&J vaccine was cleared on Friday to be distributed again after it was paused on April 13. The decision to pause distribution was made after 15 people experienced severe blood clots two weeks after their dose.
“I think now it’s up to public health authorities, the FDA and the CDC to really get the message out that this is a rare, but known, side effect of this particular vaccine," Dr. Kevin Ault, with the University of Kansas Health Systems, said.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said it will resume the J&J vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks.
“It is still safer for a woman 18-50 to get this vaccine than to get COVID," Archer said.
The walk-in clinic at Smith-Hale Middle School was administering Pfizer on Saturday, but said certain clinics will once again give the J&J vaccine as early as next week.
“COVID does more damage and potentially causes more blood clots than the actual vaccine itself," said Tiffany Wilkinson, division manager of communicable disease prevention with the KCMO Health Department.
Canady told 41 Action News she understands the hesitation, but wants people to do their own research regarding the vaccination.
“I encourage everyone to go out and get the vaccine because we want to get back to our normal lives," Canady said.
