COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — A mass vaccination site in Colorado closed early on Wednesday afternoon after people started having adverse reactions to the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Centura Health said Wednesday night that 11 patients experienced the reactions after receiving an injection at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.
Medical staff on site determined two individuals required additional observation and out of an abundance of caution, they were transported to nearby hospitals.
Earlier, the company told NewsNation affiliate KDVR that 0.8% of patients — or 13 people out of an estimated 1,700 — who received the vaccine experienced adverse reactions.
The vaccination site, which was scheduled to close at 5 p.m., shut down around 3:30 p.m. and sent home 640 people who had been waiting in line for hours for the vaccine. Their vaccination slots have been rescheduled for Sunday when they will be receiving the first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine.
There is no information yet on how many people had reactions or how severe those reactions were.
A Centura Health representative issued the following statement to NewsNation affiliate KDVR:
As of today, April 7, we have decided to pause operations of the Vaccines for All mass vaccination event at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, which we are hosting in partnership with the State of Colorado. Following the administration of the J&J vaccine and during onsite observation, we saw a limited number of adverse reactions to the vaccine that equaled 0.8 percent of those receiving the vaccine Wednesday. We followed our protocols and in an abundance of caution, made the decision – in partnership with the state – to pause operations for the remainder of the day. Over 1,700 patients received their shots today, and the 640 patients who were unable to receive their vaccine this afternoon will automatically be rescheduled for Sunday, April 11, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Our goal is to continue to vaccinate Coloradans as quickly as possible while keeping our patients’ safety at the forefront.
Roughly 20% of the state’s population, nearly 1.5 million people, are fully vaccinated already, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday evening, there have been 470,254 confirmed cases and 6,132 deaths in Colorado from the virus.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.