A mass vaccination site in Commerce City, Colorado temporarily shut down Wednesday after nearly a dozen people experienced side effects from their coronavirus shots.
At least 11 people who received a Johnson & Johnson injection at the city’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Park said they experienced nausea and dizziness a few minutes after their bumps.
Medical staff found that two people needed additional observation and were taken to nearby hospitals for further assistance. The nine other people who got sick were given juice and water before they were brought home.
State health officials were quick to reassure the public that there was no need to worry about the other people who were vaccinated on the same day. The decision to shut down operations on the site was made out of caution, city officials said.
“We know it can be alarming to hear from people being rushed to the hospital and we want to assure Coloradans that the CDC and public health are continuously monitoring all approved vaccines,” said Scott Bookman, COVID-19 Incident Commander to the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.
“As far as we know, today’s side effects were consistent with those expected.”
A spokesman for Centura Health, which manages the vaccination site with the state of Colorado, said the sickness figure was less than 1% of the 1,700 patients who were shot that day.
The website had previously given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and problems are rare. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System operated by the federal government reports that 10 reactions at vaccination centers in the community have already been documented.
