New Hanover and Brunswick counties, as well as UNCW and NHRMC will halt the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Port City Daily/File) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States, causing N.C. public health, local counties and providers to follow suit on Tuesday. The pause comes after six 18-to-48-year-old women, within six to 13 days after receiving the J&J vaccine, were diagnosed with a rare blood clot (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) in combination with low blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). It left one dead and another in serious condition.