Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine pause showed CDC, FDA tackling hesitancy by emphasizing safety, Dr. Anthony Fauci says
Updated 12:03 PM;
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the recently-lifted pause of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may surprise critics by putting a dent in vaccine hesitancy because it shows that the federal government is serious about safety.
Responding to critics including FiveThirtyEight′s Nate Silver, who argued the pause was unnecessary because the blood clotting issue linked to the vaccine was extraordinarily rare, Fauci said the move would not create lasting damage in how vaccines are perceived overall.
“I don’t think that’s ultimately going to be the case,” Fauci, the chief White House medical advisor, told ABC News’ “This Week.” “In the long run ... people will realize that we take safety seriously. We’re out there trying to combat the degree of vaccine hesitancy that is still out there. One of the reasons you have hesitancy is concerns about the safety of the vaccine.”