The J & J Pause, Explained — And What It Means For The U.S. Vaccination Effort
The J & J Pause, Explained — And What It Means For The U.S. Vaccination Effort
Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, brief reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Tuesday after two government agencies recommended a pause in the distribution of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, brief reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Tuesday after two government agencies recommended a pause in the distribution of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced a recommended pause in use of Johnson & Johnson's single-use COVID-19 vaccine, while the agencies investigate reports of a rare but serious blood clot in six people.
The pause comes at a time when public health officials face the growing challenge of vaccine hesitancy, as NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports.
NPR's Tamara Keith and Pien Huang explain the science behind the pause, and how it's occurring at a challenging moment for the Biden administration.
Additional reporting in this episode comes from NPR's Allison Aubrey.
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This episode was produced by Brent Baughman, Brianna Scott and Lee Hale. It was edited by Sami Yenigun with help from Wynne Davis and Scott Hensley. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.