J&J Vaccine In Limbo As Deadlocked CDC Panel Delays Vote

Stat: CDC Advisory Panel Delays Decision On J&J Covid-19 Vaccine
The U.S. government’s recommended pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is unlikely to be lifted for at least another week or 10 days, after a committee of independent experts declined Wednesday to vote on whether use of the vaccine should resume. ... Many members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said they felt they had too little information to be able to estimate the benefits and risks of the vaccine, or to recommend its use be restricted to people in certain age groups. (Branswell, 4/14)

Politico: CDC Vaccine Panel Unexpectedly Delays Decision On Johnson & Johnson Shot 
The committee’s recommendations are non-binding, but top Biden administration health officials have said they would look to the CDC panel and a separate probe by officials at the Food and Drug Administration to guide their decision making on the vaccine. While many of the committee members — who include public health experts, scientists and doctors — said they needed more information before making a call, others expressed frustration about the damage that continued uncertainty would do to public confidence and vaccination efforts among underserved populations. (Owermohle and Banco, 4/14)

The Washington Post: CDC Vaccine Advisers Seek More Data On Rare Blood Clots Before Deciding Whether To Resume Johnson & Johnson Shots
At a hastily arranged emergency meeting a day after federal officials recommended a pause in use of the vaccine, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed to reconvene within 10 days, acknowledging the urgency of making a decision about a vaccine that is a key part of the strategy to end the pandemic in the United States and globally. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reviewed details about six cases of blood clots in women who were between the ages of 18 and 48. The women developed symptoms, most often headaches, six to 13 days after vaccination. One vaccine recipient, a Virginia woman, died in March, and another is in critical condition, health officials have said. Two have been discharged and three remain in the hospital. (Sun and Johnson, 4/14)

In related news about the pause —

CNN: Fauci Says This Is A Pause And Not A Cancellation Of The J&J Vaccine. Here's How Long A Final Decision May Take
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says the recommended pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is just that: a pause -- and not a cancellation -- and will likely last days to weeks. "I doubt very seriously if we're talking about weeks to months," he told CNN on Wednesday. And that pause, he added, should help underscore and confirm "how seriously we take safety even though it's a rare event." (Maxouris, 4/15)

Axios: Fauci: J&J Pause Shows How Seriously FDA Takes Vaccine Safety 
President Biden's chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci suggested Wednesday that the decision to pause use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine could actually bolster vaccine confidence, calling it "an affirmation that safety is a primary consideration when it comes to the FDA and CDC." Tuesday's decision to pause the J&J rollout has set off a chain reaction of fears — both about the safety of the vaccine and about whether the FDA is overreacting, considering that only six cases of rare blood clots have been reported out of 7 million vaccine doses administered. (4/14)

Axios: The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause Is A Study In Uncertain Risk Psychology 
The decision to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine — and the furor that now surrounds it — underscores the confounding psychology behind risk assessment. From vaccines to emerging technologies, the future will force us to make difficult, risk-based choices that our Stone Age brains are ill-equipped to handle, especially in an environment where social trust has evaporated. (Walsh, 4/14)