Coronavirus

Fauci Confident Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Will Return

Dr. Fauci says the shot will likely return but perhaps with warnings about the rare side effects.

Fauci Confident Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Will Return
Associated Press
SMS

In the fight against the coronavirus, all eyes this week are on a CDC panel considering whether to continue to support the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

The federal government recommended a pause on the shot to look at more data after a few cases of blood clotting were seen.

“There’s a twofold reason for doing it: one, to pause and take a look at more detail about it, and two, to make sure the physicians treat people appropriately,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.

About half of adults in the U.S. have had at least one COVID shot...about 130 million people. But news of the pause on J and J has made some hesitant now. Like this woman in the Detroit area.

“I’m safe already, I take precautions, I haven't had COVID, period. I’m going to stick it out.”

Criticism came from some governors saying the pause is hurting vaccination efforts, including in Florida.

“If you’re going to do that, you could have done that in a way that was not going to cause a lot of people to lose confidence," Gov. Ron DeSantis said. "If you look at how people view J&J the positive view plunged as a result."

This comes as the U.S. has seen a 7-day average of about 70,000 daily cases — up 7.7 percent from the previous week. 

Fauci says only a handful of blot clotting incidents emerged from millions of doses. He’s confident the J and J vaccine will get the sign off from the CDC panel this week.

“I don't think it's just going to go back and say, 'OK, everything's fine,' and go right back," Fauci said. "I think it'll likely say, 'OK, we're going to use it. But be careful under these certain circumstances."