This is a Johnson & Johnson vaccine vial. Northern Michigan University has canceled its COVID-19 student vaccine clinics due to a pause on the use of this vaccine. (AP photo/Mark Lennihan)

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University canceled vaccine clinics for students scheduled for Tuesday and today in response to calls from two federal agencies, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for an immediate pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

According to The Associated Press, the agencies recommended a pause in administration of the vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. The FDA and CDC indicated they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination.

NMU’s Health Center was notified last week it would receive an allocation of Johnson & Johnson single-shot doses and scheduled clinics in the hope of fully vaccinating students before the end of the semester.

NMU announced that students who had appointments for the clinics and still want to begin the vaccination process with the two-shot Moderna vaccine can do so through the Marquette County Health Department today by signing up at co.marquette.mi.us.

The MCHD clinic is being held at the Northern Center on the NMU campus. Students who registered for today’s clinic were to be notified as quickly as possible for their appointment times.

The Moderna vaccine requires two doses given 28 days apart. NMU said that students who receive their first shots through today’s MCHD clinic can get their second doses through their home area health departments if leaving the area before the 28-day period is up.

Students still in Marquette on the 29th day would receive the second shot at another clinic through the MCHD.

Michigan pauses use of vaccine

Based on recommendations from the CDC and FDA, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is asking that all Michigan providers temporarily pause the administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the state.

This temporary recommendation is based on the identification of six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the MDHHS said. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets, a condition called thrombocytopenia.

These adverse reactions appear to be extremely rare, the MDHHS said, as more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. as of Monday, with nearly 200,000 of those doses administered in Michigan.

Vaccine providers across the state have been instructed not to administer this vaccine at this time while the CDC and FDA review further data and assure that clinicians are identifying and reporting any potential adverse reaction. Clinics that are scheduled to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will either reschedule or use a different vaccine.

“More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S., and these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan chief medical executive and chief deputy for health, in a statement. “However, out of an abundance of caution, we are following recommendations from FDA and CDC and pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Michigan. As we learn more about this from our federal partners, we will update vaccine providers and Michiganders across the state.”

Khaldun said health officials encourage everyone to continue making appointments to be vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at this time.

“These vaccines are the way we are going to end this pandemic as quickly as possible and move toward a sense of normalcy,” she said.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, the MDHHS said. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices today to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.

People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination are urged to contact their health care providers, the MDHHS said. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.

MIOSHA takes action

Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has extended its emergency rules, originally issued Oct. 14, to protect Michigan workers, businesses, customers and communities from the spread of COVID-19.

The emergency rules have been extended until Oct. 14 but can be modified or withdrawn at any time in response to changes in COVID-19 spread.

Since March 2020, employers have reported over 40 worker deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan and MIOSHA has received over 12,000 complaints from employees alleging COVID-19 hazards in the workplace, according to the State Emergency Operations Center. In addition, over 605 referrals were received from local government, including local health departments, indicating that businesses were not taking all the necessary measures to protect their employees from infection.

“As we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the rules reinforce the importance of keeping workplaces safe for employees from COVID-19 transmission,” said COVID-19 Workplace Safety Director Sean Egan in a statement. “We want employers to create a safe work environment for their employees, which is why we will continue to work with employees and businesses to help them understand how to safely stay open.”

To provide additional educational support to employers, the new MIOSHA Ambassador Program has provided over 3,700 businesses free education and one-on-one guidance to understand regulations on workplace safety. Ambassadors work directly with business owners and managers to implement safety directives to help ensure a safe workplace for employees and customers.

LEO remains engaged in conversations with civic, business and labor leaders as well as public health experts to develop a set of phased-in, return-to-office recommendations. These recommendations will provide additional education and assistance to employers to help them implement the MIOSHA emergency rules and safely return to in-person work at an appropriate time.

According to data gathered from Sept. 3 to April 1, as reported to the MDHHS by local public health departments, workplace outbreaks include 670 in manufacturing and construction, 250 in restaurants and bars, 374 in retail, 332 in office settings and 52 in personal care services.

Under the emergency rules, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment, steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions.

The rules also state that employers must continue to implement policies that require remote work for employees where remote work is feasible to help ensure that COVID-19 transmission is mitigated to the maximum extent possible. While in-person work is permitted when remote work is not feasible, remote work is recommended as a strategy to minimize in-person contacts and is included in guidance from the CDC and federal OSHA to protect employees in the workplace.

The rules establish workplace safety requirements, and employers are asked to coordinate these requirements with the MDHHS emergency order restricting gathering sizes; requiring face coverings in public spaces and child care facilities; placing capacity limitations on stores, bars and other public venues; and providing safer workplaces.

Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health may contact MIOSHA using the new hotline at 855-723-3219.