(CNN) – Vaccine advisers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet this Friday to make recommendations on how to use Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine after it was suspended to investigate a possible link with serious blood clots.
The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week recommended a break from J & J’s coronavirus vaccine use after six cases reported in the country.
They are investigating whether there are more cases and whether other types of blood clots could be associated with the vaccine. The break was also intended to give experts time to educate doctors about how to look for and treat these clots.
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met on April 14, but members said they needed more information about the J&J vaccine and blood clot cases.
Dr. William Schaffner, a non-voting ACIP member and professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told CNN the committee has delayed making a decision because there are likely to be more reports of blood clots. , and members must understand the demographics of those cases.
The scenarios of what could happen with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Schaffner said Friday’s meeting could go in several ways.
ACIP could recommend resuming use of the vaccine unchanged, or the committee could recommend that the J&J vaccine be discontinued completely in the United States.
Schaffner said the ACIP is likely to recommend a resumption of the vaccine with a warning about potential adverse effects and possibly advice to populations at higher risk to stay away from this vaccine altogether.
ACIP President Dr. José Romero told CNN that the committee also has the option to recommend that the interruption continue until more information is collected, although he believes enough data has been generated on this point for ACIP to make a decision.
Romero said he has yet to investigate the data to be considered on Friday, but he does not think the committee will decide to recommend a complete cessation of use of the vaccine in the United States.
“CDC scientists can estimate what the benefit-risk analysis would be, and that will certainly inform us in our decision,” said Romero. “Whoever uses the vaccine, as with any vaccine in this country, should be informed of the risks associated with it.”
Romero noted that eventually it might be necessary to consider a possible booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“If there is a high-risk population who is told not to receive the vaccine, then I imagine the CDC will make recommendations on what the alternative vaccine would be for that group,” Romero said.
What does Johnson & Johnson say?
Dr. Paul Stoffels, J & J’s Chief Scientific Officer, said Tuesday that the company believes the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
“The safety and well-being of those using our product is our number one priority and we strongly support knowledge of the signs and symptoms of this extremely rare event to help ensure proper diagnosis, treatment and accelerated reporting. health workers, ”Stoffels said.
Romero, who also serves as Arkansas health secretary, said there may be additional recommendations for states and doctors on how to administer the doses of the J&J vaccine that have already been distributed. He said he believes states will accept the committee’s recommendations.
“My advice to the governor as we go along will be, ‘Let’s see what the CDC says,’” said Romero. “It’s more than likely – I mean over 98% – I’m going to say I agree with the committee’s recommendations, and those are the ones we should follow in our state.”
While there is some concern that the J&J vaccine pause is fueling reluctance to get the vaccine, an Axios-Ipsos poll released Tuesday showed 88% of Americans think the CDC and FDA were acting responsibly when they recommended the break.
“I really think and hope that the American public will look at this hiatus and look at what we have been doing during this hiatus as an indication of how safe the vaccination system and process is in this country,” said Romero.
Will this affect the supply of vaccines in the United States?
President Joe Biden and other officials have said that any decision about the COVID-19 vaccine will not hinder vaccination efforts in the United States.
The FDA on Monday requested that the J&J vaccine be stopped at a Baltimore Emergent BioSolutions facility while it investigates contamination that has affected at least one batch of the J&J vaccine.
“We want to make it clear to the American public that we have two vaccines available, Pfizer and Moderna, and that people should keep vaccinating you,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky last week.
Walensky said that while the CDC is conducting a benefit-risk analysis of the J&J vaccine, the agency has contacted more than 10,000 providers to tell them what to look out for should others experience similar side effects.
Those who have received the J&J vaccine within the past three weeks have a very low risk of developing the rare blood clot that will decline over time, the CDC says. The agency recommends that people with certain symptoms, such as sudden and severe headaches, leg swelling, and shortness of breath, seek immediate medical attention.
CNN’s Naomi Thomas, Ryan Prior, Jen Christensen, Virginia Langmaid, Ashley Ahn and Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.