A pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will not hamper the country’s immunization efforts, White House officials said Wednesday.
“I want to be clear that this announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination program,” said White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeff Zients. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5% of the more than 190 million reported shots in arms in the U.S. to date.”
The FDA and CDC on Tuesday recommended placing a hold on giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports ofZients said that while there may be short-term disruption while vaccination sites adjust to the change, there will be no serious effects on distribution. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, PhD, said late Tuesday the delivery of doses will be sped up in light of the Johnson & Johnson news.cases happened in women ages 18-48, and symptoms arose 6 to 13 days after they received the vaccine.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting today to discuss potential updates to its Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine recommendations, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said during the briefing. She said there may be more cases of blood clots than officials are aware of. “Right now we believe these events to be extremely rare, but we're also not yet certain we've heard about all possible cases, as this syndrome may not be easily recognized as one associated with the vaccine,” she said.“I know the information we have presented may be very concerning to Americans, especially those who have already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.