Mississippi is now allowing health care providers to administer the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to patients.

State health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said the Mississippi State Department of Health sent a message on Tuesday evening to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies across the state that re-initiated the use of the J&J vaccine in the state.

Of the nearly 8 million people who have received the J&J vaccine, 15 have developed a rare kind of blood clot, according to the Associated Press. At a Wednesday press briefing, Dobbs said that these individuals were all woman, and most were under 50 years old.

Mississippi had paused the use of the J&J vaccine on April 13. U.S. health officials said last Friday that use of the vaccine could resume, but Mississippi did not lift its own pause until Tuesday.

Dobbs said his department is advising health care providers to counsel their patients on the possible risks, inform them that there are other vaccine options and give them an FDA fact sheet on the vaccine.

“The risk is very low, but it is there, and we want people to have information to make the proper choice going forward,” he said.

Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, also spoke at the press briefing, and encouraged Mississippians to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Vaccine is the way for us to get back to a more normal environment in our daily life,” he said.

New CDC guidance

Fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

As the COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues in the U.S., the CDC released new guidance this week for fully vaccinated people. Individuals are fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine or two weeks after the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The agency says that fully vaccinated individuals can participate in many outdoor activities unmasked at low risk to themselves and to others. They can attend a small outdoor gathering with other fully vaccinated individuals and with unvaccinated individuals. They can also dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households.

The CDC also says that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can walk, run or bike outdoors with members of their household without wearing a mask.

However, the CDC still recommends that fully vaccinated people wear a mask when attending a crowded outdoor event, such as a live performance or a sports event.

The agency is also advising vaccinated individuals to mask up while doing indoor activities.

The CDC released other guidance on Tuesday, too, including that fully vaccinated residents of non-healthcare congregate settings no longer need to quarantine following a known exposure to COVID-19.