Joe Biden says pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine shows government putting 'safety first'

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that a "pause" in administering Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine shots reflected his administration’s “safety first” approach. Despite the sudden halt of one type of vaccine, his administration’s inoculation campaign will continue with Pfizer and Moderna jabs that were “basically 100 percent unquestionable, for every single, solitary American", he said at a presser. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  recommended that the US stopped the use of the J&J vaccine out of an abundance of caution, as at least 6  cases of a rare and “severe type” of a blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was detected. 

Fortunately, the vaccine made up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms across the US. A Virginia woman, according to multiple reports, died. As the vaccine caused panic, hesitancy, and alarm among the Americans, Joe Biden and top US health officials said at a White House briefing that the blockade of the vaccine use must restore public confidence in the administration’s concerns for the safety of the citizens. Meanwhile, US top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the White House reporters that there was a need to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, adding that the incident was a “testimony to how seriously we take safety.”

“Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines,” Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator on Johnson & Johnson Vaccine told a press conference after Biden’s announcement. 

He added, “This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the President’s goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office.” He continued, “We are working now with our state and federal partners to get anyone scheduled for a J&J vaccine quickly rescheduled for a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.” 

J&J says 'we're aware of reports'

In an official statement, meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson said that it was aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine.  The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reviewing data involving six reported US cases out of more than 6.8 million doses administered. Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA have recommended a “pause in the use of our vaccine,” the Pharma company said. “We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We will proactively delay the rollout of our Janssen  vaccine in Europe,” J&J said. 

(Image Credit: AP)