After several reports of blood clots developing in people who took the Johnson & Johnson CIVID-19 vaccine, U.S. health agencies called for a temporary halt on the shots.
The J&J vaccine was pulled off the market last week after officials announced that six women — out of some 7 million people inoculated — had experienced blood clots. But what was expected to be a pause of just a few days is still in effect.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top immunologist in the U.S., predicted on Sunday that health officials will not pull the vaccine.
“My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form. I doubt very seriously if they just cancel it,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“I do think that there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment. I don’t think it’s just going to go back and say, ‘OK, everything’s fine. Go right back,’” he said. “I think it’ll likely say, ‘OK, we’re going to use it but be careful under these certain circumstances.’”
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel is expected to meet Friday to weigh whether the pause should be extended. The same group met Wednesday but could not make a decision on the matter and instead delayed a vote pending more evidence.
Fauci said Sunday he expects federal health officials will make a decision in the Friday meeting.
“I think by that time we’re gonna’ have a decision. Though I don’t want to get ahead of the CDC and the and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] and the advisory committee, but I would imagine that what we will see is that it would come back and it would come back in some sort of either wanting a restriction,” Fauci said later on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I hope that we don’t see anything extended beyond Friday. We need to get Friday some decision one way or the other,” Fauci added.
Fauci also predicted that experts will know by the end of the summer if a third booster shot will be needed for people who took the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said last week that people will “likely” need to take a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated and that many may need annual vaccinations against the virus.
“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role,” he said in comments that were taped April 1 but first aired Thursday. “But all of that needs to be confirmed, and again, the variants will play a key role.”
“It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus,” Bourla said, according to CNBC. Bourla also said that coronavirus vaccines may need to be an annual event, echoing Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, who said the same thing in February.