A Bay Area man in his 30s recently developed a blot clot in his leg eight days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, a spokesperson for UCSF confirmed Monday.
It is believed to be the first report of a male experiencing the clotting linked to the Johnson & Johnson shot.
In the case first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, doctors at UCSF said the man is responding well to treatment and should be released soon.
"This particular person had a more mild clot, and one in the leg," said Dr. Monica Gandhi, Associate Division Chief & Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "But certainly it’s a real clot, and he’s in his early 30’s, so likely could be linked to the vaccine.”
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There have been 15 blood clotting cases linked to the J&J vaccine out of about 8 million doses administered across the U.S.
In a joint statement Sunday, nine Bay Area health officers supported a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to resume using the vaccine after it was paused for review because of the earlier reports of blood clots.
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The timing of this reported case may seem troubling to some especially after the health officers' announcement. However, Dr. Gandhi said she thinks "they did the right thing, which is to put a warning label on it but not to stop the vaccine.”
Health leaders say the 2 in a million risk of blood clotting is low.
"You are, as a woman, less likely to get the blood clot problem than to get struck by lightning next year," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
Across the Bay Area, several residents say they are not concerned about getting the Johnson & Johnson shot.
"They’ve run thousands of tests on hundreds of thousands of people before, you know, so I wouldn’t be concerned," said Hayward resident Chef Q.
Contra Costa County told NBC Bay Area it would resume using the vaccine as early as Monday.
Most sites list which vaccine is available when booking an appointment, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if they're scheduled to get the J&J shot.
