After the pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over blood-clot concerns, experts said they worry it could increase hesitancy, or at least slow momentum, among individuals in the Hispanic and Black communities.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Tuesday after announcing six reported cases of rare disorders resulting in blood clots.

Orange County pastor Stoelleo Stovall teamed up with other church leaders to get hundreds vaccinated this month with the J&J vaccine in some of Orange County's underserved communities. 

"(We used) 250 (J&J) doses, and listen, we didn't have time to put it on the media, none of that,” said Stovall, founder of the God is Able Outreach Ministry. “But we ran out ... Then this past Thursday, we had 400 doses, and we ran out of 400."

Stovall said he and many others in his church community trust a one-dose vaccine much more than the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

"They were scared of the shot,” he said “I tell you there were some people there that I had to pray for and hold their hand." 

In Osceola County’s Hispanic community, the news about the blood-clot case slightly worried Jose Santiago, 44, who got the vaccine over the weekend.

“I don’t know what to say, it’s early,” he said. “My wife had it as well. The only one that’s really concerned is my mother.”

He said so far the only side effects he experienced were temporary chills. That is why he believed it was safe to get his children vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday at the Centro Cristiano Dios De Pactos Church in Kissimmee.

“I’m willing to get the vaccine and kind of be, 'a vaccine isn’t that bad,' ” 16-year-old Jadalynn Santiago said. “You can trust it.”

Any possible side effects aren’t a concern for Jadalynn because the CDC reports more than 189 million doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in the United States and so far no long-term side effects have been detected. 

“That’s why I’m not too worried about it because I feel like it’s slim-to none for me to get that,” she said.

Despite the numbers, Jeremy Lanier, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Health in Osceola County, reports there is still hesitancy among the Hispanic community to get the vaccine. Data from the Florida Department of Health show despite making up more than half of the county’s population, only about 30 percent of Hispanics got the vaccine. 

“The current issue with Johnson & Johnson may have exacerbated some hesitancy in our community, so we’re focusing on ways we can reach out to individuals throughout Osceola County on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines,” Lanier said.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi said this pause in the vaccine should give people more confidence in the process. 

"This actually proves that it's safer ... that the FDA and the CDC has held their word on this, that they will keep the process transparent, that they will take every safety signal seriously," Cherabuddi said.

And these experts are confident Johnson & Johnson's shot will be back.

"Once they give me the OK, we gonna be vaccinating," Stovall said.

FDOH in Osceola County and the National Institutes of Health have worked to educate many Hispanic and Black individuals who are hesitant to get the vaccine about the benefits of vaccination.

Lanier said they also work to help them find where they can get vaccinated.

“A lot of folks in the community don’t know where they can access these vaccines,” Lanier said. “So, our goal is to work with community partners like the National Institute of Health and other partners in our community to engage our Hispanic, African American community, and other populations that may experience any hesitancy, to give them the most updated information.”

The county along with the NIH will host a vaccine education event at the Chambers Park Community Center in Kissimmee on May 6.