4:24 p.m. ET, April 20, 2021
Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause should allow public to make informed choices, White House adviser says
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses are prepared at a clinic on March 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
The recommended pause in administration of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine in the US should help people make decisions about their own health care, a White House adviser said Tuesday.
“I think you trust the public,” Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for Covid-19 Response, said in an interview on racial equity hosted by Axios.
“You give them the information they need, unadulterated, and you will allow them to do their homework for themselves,” he said.
The US Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recommended a pause in giving the vaccine after at least six women developed a rare type of blood clot soon after getting the vaccine. The CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices met without reaching a conclusion and meets again Friday to make recommendations for going forward with the vaccine.
Europe’s top medical regulator says it’s likely there’s a link between the vaccine and the rare blood clot cases but said Tuesday the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risk.
“We just need to let science do its time,” Slavitt said.
“The committee will do its investigation, and we’ve let them do that. But in the meantime, trust the American public to understand that we’re putting the facts in front of them and you’re going to make the best decision for themselves, their families, and ultimately, it’s going to mean that they want to save their lives, they’re going to want to get vaccinated.”