The vials with a sticker that reads, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a Johnson & Johnson logo displayed in this illustration taken on October 31, 2020. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted on Sunday that US health regulators will end the temporary break in the distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, adding that a decision is expected to come immediately on Friday.
“My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form. I seriously doubt it if it just cancels it. I don’t think it will happen. I think there will probably be some kind of warning or restriction or risk assessment, “Fauci told NBC’s” Meet the Press. “
US health regulators last week recommended that the use of the J&J vaccine be discontinued after six cases of rare blood clots in women were reported in about 7 million people who caught fire in the United States.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel is set to meet on April 23 to discuss next steps for the vaccine.
Fauci said he did not know what the final decision would be, but predicted it would be a resumption.
“I don’t know if there have been any more cases. We’ll know that by Friday and I’d be very surprised … if we don’t have a resumption in some form by Friday. A decision will almost certainly be made. By Friday,” Fauci said. told CBS “Face the Nation.”
On Sunday, Fauci also set a possible timetable for when children could be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I would be surprised if we didn’t have high school kids who could be vaccinated by the fall,” he told CBS. “I think that by the first quarter of 2022, we will be able to vaccinate children of almost any age – hopefully before then,” he added.
“But I think it will be the latest thing we’ll see.”
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