Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is only a pause – not a cancellation – and he doubts it will extend for weeks to months.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and US Food and Drug Administration recommended that the US pause use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine over six reported cases or “a rare and severe type of blood clot” reported in the US.
Speaking on CNN's New Day program on Wednesday, Fauci said: “There’s a twofold reason: one for an abundance of caution of safety, take a quick look, get more details, but also a heads up to the physicians out there that if you see these kinds of cases, don’t treat them with heparin. There are other modalities of treatment that could be used."
The pause, in his mind, should “underscore and confirm how seriously we take safety, even though it’s a very rare event.”
Fauci told CNN that he had no reason to believe that there were many more cases, but that the pause is there to take a look to see if there are any other cases.
“If anyone’s got a doubt that they may not be taking safety very seriously, I think this is an affirmation that safety is a primary consideration when it comes to the FDA and the CDC,” he said. “That’s why it was done and that’s why it’s a pause."
