The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday comes just as an increase in supply is needed for a ramp-up in the vaccination campaign.
The coronavirus, driven by the U.K. variant, is threatening to surge again in the United States. A rise in infections has led Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to ask the Biden administration to send more vaccines to her state.
Additionally, President Joe Biden announced last week that on April 19, all adults age 16 and older should have access to a vaccine.
FEDERAL HEALTH AGENCIES CALL TO PAUSE JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE AFTER CLOTTING CASES
“Any pause in available vaccine product is bad timing, and it is exceptionally bad timing as we enter into allowing the whole adult population to be vaccinated,” said Peter Pitts, president of the conservative Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and former associate commissioner for external relations at the FDA.
The agencies made the recommendation in response to six women in the U.S. who had suffered blood clots after receiving the vaccine. Over 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered. If six people have had blood clots, that means the risk of a blood clot is about one ten-thousandth of a percent. By comparison, the death rate from COVID-19 in the U.S. among confirmed cases is about 1.8%.
Yet, Pitts said the CDC and FDA made the correct decision.
“What’s important is that this is a very rare type of blood clot,” Pitts said. “It’s called a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis clot. The fact that six women developed this very rare clot is definitely disproportionate to the general population. So, I think it is wise the CDC and FDA recommended a pause.”
Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said in a statement that Tuesday’s “announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan.”
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He said that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5% of shots given out so far and that enough Pfizer and Moderna doses are available to maintain the pace of vaccinations.
