Coordinator of the Covid-19 White House working group Jeff Zeints said a “pause” in Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration would not affect national vaccine distribution, although some officials hoped to rely on the single vaccine in rural and isolated communities.
“We have enough to continue the current pace of about 3 million shots a day, 200 million shots a day [Joe Biden’s] 100th day in office, ”Zeints said in the White House meeting room.
He later added: “We have enough supply from Moderna and Pfizer … to head towards the fourth of July of what we have talked about as a country.”
Six cases of blood clots and a low platelet count in women between the ages of 18 and 48 prompted the CDC and the FDA to recommend states to stop vaccine administration while investigating possible links between the vaccine and the very rare syndrome. More than 6 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses have been administered in the United States.
Officials have said there are similarities between the syndrome being investigated and those associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe and Australia. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not available in the US. Both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines share a vaccine technology called a “viral vector.” If a link were established, the syndrome would still be extremely rare and affect less than one in a million vaccinated people.
Health officials said it was also important to stop the administration and announce it to the public because of the treatment needed for patients who could suffer from these clots. The standard treatment for blood clots uses heparin, an anticoagulant. In this syndrome, officials said heparin could be “dangerous” and make the syndrome worse.
“When people, especially younger women, go into a doctor with a thrombotic phenomenon, we want to alert doctors so they have a history of a recent vaccine,” she said. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser. “That would be important.”
The White House had “no involvement” in the announcement about a “pause” in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration in the U.S. Zeints said the administration is “governed by science” and would await the investigation by health officials.
As to whether the rare potential side effect could increase vaccine hesitation, especially in rural areas where the vaccine was expected to be implemented Johnson & Johnson, Zeints and Fauci said the pause seriously represents the FDA takes patient safety.
“Hesitation between a group of people is a challenge,” Zeints said. “The FDA, acting the way it did today, is proving to be the gold standard, and I think that should reassure the American public that they are very diligent.”
Influenza-like side effects in the days immediately following the administration of the vaccine are common established side effects and would usually resolve within a few days. In all six cases, blood clotting events occurred between six and 13 days after any of the patients received a vaccine.
Symptoms of coagulation syndrome include severe headache, shortness of breath, abdominal and leg pain. People who experience these symptoms approximately one to three weeks after receiving the vaccine should seek medical attention. People who received the vaccine more than a month ago have a “very low” risk of complications.