Las Cruces mass vaccination clinic to now offer Pfizer shots as New Mexico halts J&J use

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Plans are back on for a Covid=19 mass vaccination site in Las Cruces on Saturday, but the city will now offer the Pfizer vaccine instead of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine as originally scheduled.

The change comes as New Mexico paused the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in response to a federal recommendation Tuesday stemming from reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

“New Mexico — like the federal government — is acting out of an abundance of caution,” state Department of Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said. “As we learn more, we will share that information.”

The revamped Las Cruces vaccination clinic will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pan American Center near New Mexico State University.

Those who would like to attend must pre-register at vaccineNM.org. A health department spokesman told ABC-7 that there will be 2,300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine available on a first-come, first-served basis.

New Mexico continues to lead the U.S. in vaccine distribution, with close to 35% of residents 16 and older having been fully vaccinated. More than 52% have received at least one shot of the two required with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

State health officials said that overall, less than 39,000 J&J doses have been administered in New Mexico. Just over 3% of this week's allocation of vaccine doses for the state had included the one-shot J&J.

People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, blurred vision, seizure, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider, the state health department said.

In a joint statement earlier Tuesday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots that occurred several days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. The six cases involved women between the ages of 18 and 48; there was one death.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S.