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The race to vaccinate hit more roadblocks on Thursday, as several patients at a mass vaccination site in North Carolina suffered immediate reactions to the Johnson & Johnson shot. A day earlier, 11 people had adverse reactions in Denver, ranging from dizziness to nausea. Both sites temporarily shut down. "At this point we have no reason to believe there's anything wrong with the vaccine itself," said Dr. Shauna Gulley, a Centura Health chief clinical officer. "This is a temporary pause of one brand of vaccine so that we can investigate further."  (Diaz, 4/8)

Colorado public health officials announced Thursday that they found no sign of a problem after an unexpected number of reactions to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine at a mass-inoculation site in Commerce City led to its early closure this week. The site at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park shut down Wednesday afternoon after 11 people experienced reactions such as dizziness and nausea. None of them became seriously ill, but it was an unusual number in less than four hours, since only 10 people had suffered adverse reactions at all previous mass-vaccination events in Colorado. (Wingerter, 4/8)

There are no safety issues with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine used at Wake County’s PNC Arena mass vaccination site after several adverse reactions were reported, according to an investigation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC “did not find any safety issues or reason for concern, and the CDC recommends continuing to administer the vaccine,” the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported late Thursday night. (Wagner and Johnson, 4/8)

U.S. military leaders said Thursday that recent problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have made it more difficult to provide shots for forces overseas, and that vaccines have been offered to service members' families or other tier two beneficiaries in only 40% of the military sites outside the U.S. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference, they said they are making up for the Johnson & Johnson shortfall by shipping more Moderna vaccines to forces outside the country. The cold temperature and other requirements for the Pfizer vaccine make it more difficult to send overseas. (Baldor, 4/8)

Syracuse University administered its first doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to students on Wednesday. SU received an initial allotment of 1,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from New York state and Onondaga County. New York opened vaccine eligibility for all residents 16 years old and older on Tuesday. Students can sign up to receive a vaccine at the Barnes Center at The Arch online though SU’s patient portal. (Hicks, 4/8)

A person faces grand theft charges after stealing more than $2,000 worth of COVID-19 vaccines from a Cape Coral business. According to the police report, on Wednesday, just after 3 p.m., an officer was called to Physicians’ Primary Care of Southwest Florida on Viscaya Parkway about a theft. The officer found that 10 vials of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine stored in a refrigerator were missing. (Kase, 4/8)