Officials may recommend Johnson & Johnson vaccine resume use 'as soon as this weekend'
The pause of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the United States might be days away from coming to an end, according to a new report.
Federal health authorities are "leaning toward" recommending resuming use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, "possibly as soon as this weekend," The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 13 called for a pause of the vaccine "out of an abundance of caution" due to "six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving" the vaccine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Friday, a meeting of a CDC advisory group is scheduled to take place, and the panel could recommend the vaccine be put back in use. According to the Post, officials will likely not recommend age restrictions for the vaccine but may recommend it come with a warning. That would be a similar step to the one taken by the European Medicines Agency, which said that "unusual blood clots" should be "listed as very rare side effects" of the vaccine, but determined that its benefits outweigh its risks.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky while speaking to NBC's Today on Thursday said that she didn't want to "get ahead" of the advisory committee, but is "really hopeful that we'll be able to use the vaccine soon." Walensky also noted to the Post that the government has only seen a "handful" of additional blood clotting cases and that "we are not being inundated with things that we are concerned about," while Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the lack of a "huge avalanche" of clotting cases is a "great relief."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Climate change is threatening Florida's Key deer
The Explainer Questions remain as to how much effort should be put into saving the animals
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Daniel Lurie: San Francisco's moderate next mayor
In the Spotlight Lurie beat a fellow Democrat, incumbent Mayor London Breed, for the job
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
TV to watch in November, from 'Dune: Prophecy' and 'A Man on the Inside'
The Week Recommends A new comedy from 'The Good Place' creator, a prequel to 'Dune' and the conclusion of one of America's most popular shows
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published