Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause: An Explainer, With Dr. Leana Wen

By Tom Hall,

Rob Sivak

Published April 13, 2021 at 12:24 PM EDT

Vials of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Reports of a rare adverse effect led the CDC to recommend temporarily pausing the use of the vaccine. — Vials of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Reports of a rare adverse effect led the CDC and FDA to recommend pausing the use of the vaccine.

The esteemed public health expert discusses xwhat the pause in use of J & J's popular one-shot Janssen vaccine could mean for the mass vaccination drive.

Use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is being put on hold, following six cases of blood clots that may be related to the vaccine. The FDA and CDC haverecommended pausing the use of the J&J vaccine, a recommendation that the state of Maryland and the City of Baltimore have announced they will implement until further information about the potential risk of the vaccine is determined.

Dr. Leana Wen teaches public health at George Washington University.

To explain the significance of the J&J vaccine pause and what it could mean for the national and local vaccination programs, Dr. Leana Wen joins Tom on Skype. She is a visiting scholar at George Washington University's School of Public Health and the author of the forthcoming book, Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.