Coordinator of the Covid-19 White House Task Force Jeff Zeints said a “pause” in Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration would not affect national vaccine distribution, despite some officials expecting to rely on the one-time vaccine in rural and isolated communities.
“We have enough to continue at the current rate 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 briefing room.
He later added, “We have enough inventory of Moderna and Pfizer … to go to the Fourth of July that we’ve been talking about as a country.”
Six cases of blood clots and low platelet counts in women between the ages of 18 and 48 caused the CDC and the FDA to recommend that states interrupt administration of the vaccine 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 US.
Officials have said there are similarities between the syndrome under investigation 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 linked, the syndrome would still be extremely rare, affecting less than one in a million people vaccinated.
Health authorities said it was also important to interrupt administration and make it known to the public because of the treatment needed for patients who may be suffering from such blood clots. Standard treatment for blood clots uses heparin, a blood thinner. In this syndrome, officials said heparin could be “dangerous” and make the syndrome worse.
“When individuals, especially younger women, come to a doctor with a thrombotic phenomenon, we want to warn doctors to take a history of a recent vaccination,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical advisor. “That would be important.”
The White House was “not involved” in the announcement of a “pause” in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the US. Zeints said the government is “ruled by science” and would await the investigation from health officials.
As to whether the very rare potential side effect could increase vaccine hesitation, particularly in rural areas where the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to be deployed, Zeints and Fauci said the pause indicates how seriously the FDA takes patient safety .
“Hesitation among a group of people is a challenge,” said Zeints. “The FDA behaving like they did today shows that they are indeed the gold standard, and I think that should reassure the American public that they are very diligent.”
Flu-like side effects in the days immediately after vaccine administration are common side effects and usually disappear within a few days. In all six cases, the blood clotting events occurred between six and 13 days after one of the patients received a vaccine.
Symptoms of the clotting syndrome include severe headache, shortness of breath, abdominal and leg pain. People who experience such symptoms about 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.