Members of the White House COVID response team are tying to tamp down concerns about the recommended pause in the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The recommendation came from the FDA and CDC due to concerns about very rare blood clots. During a briefing, WH COVID coordinator Jeff Zients said it will not have a significant impact on the national vaccine distribution program. He noted that the J&J vaccine makes up less than five-percent of recorded vaccinations in the U.S.
Zients said the U.S. has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300-million Americans. Dr. Anthony Fauci noted that the pause will give federal health officials time to review the data about the blood clots. The NIH veteran defended the pause and said it was recommended out of an abundance of caution. Fauci insisted the decision was guided by science. He stressed that there have been "no red flag signals" about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.