Appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed hope that public health experts will provide a roadmap by Friday for the troubled Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“My estimate is that we will continue to use [the Johnson & Johnson vaccine] in some form," said Fauci, the nation's top health adviser. He added that he doubts "very seriously" that the vaccine would be canceled but that pausing it was the right course of action.
There have been fears that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be taken out of circulation due to six reported cases of "a rare and severe type of blood clot" in the U.S. Last week, the FDA temporarily stopped administering the one-dose vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Friday to discuss recommendations for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
"I don't want to get ahead of the CDC and the FDA and the advisory committee, but I would imagine that what we will say is: that it would come back and it would come back in some sort of either warning or restriction," Fauci also said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
There have been 6.8 million Americans who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Six women suffered from blood clots — one died and another is in critical condition.
The other two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, have been administered to over 205.8 million Americans as of this weekend.
Johnson & Johnson will delay rollout of its Covid-19 vaccine in Europe following six cases of a rare type of blood clot in the United States Photo: AFP / Mark RALSTON
