Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and Onondaga County Commissioner of Health, Dr. Indu Gupta, announced today that Onondaga County will resume the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine at Onondaga County clinics in line with recommendations released today by New York State. The availability of the single-dose vaccine will be announced as registration opens for future clinics.

This decision follows a thorough safety review of the J&J vaccine by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which announced the lift of the recommended pause on the vaccine yesterday evening.

Dr. Gupta emphasizes the importance of getting the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine and urges residents to take whichever vaccine is available to them first. The J&J vaccine’s known benefits far outweigh any potential risks, which are serious but extremely rare (15 out of the nearly 8 million people who received the J&J vaccine developed a rare blood clot and low platelet syndrome). Dr. Gupta urges anyone with questions about the J&J COVID-19 vaccines to speak with their healthcare provider. The CDC and FDA continue to closely monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines.

Onondaga County is in constant contact with the New York State Department of Health and will continue to update residents on all COVID-related developments.