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Fauci: J&J Vaccine Likely to Resume 04/18 10:52
The United States will likely move to resume Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19
vaccine this coming week, possibly with restrictions or broader warnings after
reports of some very rare blood clot cases, the government's top infectious
diseases expert said Sunday.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States will likely move to resume Johnson &
Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine this coming week, possibly with restrictions or
broader warnings after reports of some very rare blood clot cases, the
government's top infectious diseases expert said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a series of news show interviews, said he expects a
decision when advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meet
Friday to discuss the pause in J&J's single-dose vaccine.
"I would be very surprised if we don't have a resumption in some form by
Friday," he said. "I don't really anticipate that they're going to want it
stretch it out a bit longer."
Fauci, who is President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, said he believed
that federal regulators could bring the shots back with restrictions based on
age or gender or with a blanket warning, so that it is administered in a way "a
little bit different than we were before the pause."
The J&J vaccine has been in limbo after the CDC and the Food and Drug
Administration said last week they needed more evidence to decide if a handful
of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot -- and if so, how big the risk
is.
The reports are rare -- six cases out of more than 7 million U.S.
inoculations with J&J vaccine. The clots were found in six women between the
ages of 18 and 48. One person died.
The acting FDA commissioner had said she expected the pause to last only a
matter of days. Still, the decision last Tuesday triggered swift action in
Europe and elsewhere.
Fauci said he doubted very seriously that the U.S. would permanently halt
use of the J&J vaccine.
"I don't think that's going to happen," he said. "The pause was to take a
look, make sure we know all the information we can have within that timeframe,
and also warn some of the physicians out there who might see people,
particularly women, who have this particular adverse event, that they treat
them properly."
"I think it'll likely say, 'OK, we're going to use it. But be careful under
these certain circumstances.'"
More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the U.S.,
the vast majority with no or mild side effects. Authorities stressed they have
found no sign of clot problems with the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in
the U.S. -- from Moderna and Pfizer.
Fauci appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN's "State of the Union," ABC's
"This Week" and CBS' "Face the Nation."
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