State governors fear that Joe Biden’s decision to pause distribution of the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine may deal a “fatal blow” to public confidence in the vaccine. Indeed, thousands of people are canceling appointments to be vaccinated and the rate of vaccinations is falling.
It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The problem with the vaccine — an exceedingly rare side effect that causes blood clots — shouldn’t have stopped the distribution of the vaccine altogether. Apparently, there are risk factors for the blood clot that can be identified and state governors believe the Biden administration may have made the decision in haste.
Pres. Biden on COVID-19 vaccines: "There's enough vaccine, that is basically 100% unquestionable, for every single, solitary American." https://t.co/89rGo4QEuG pic.twitter.com/js9MZZA2X1
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) April 13, 2021
That’s a lie. There are no vaccines anywhere that are “basically 100 percent unquestionable.” All vaccines have side effects and care must be taken in deciding whether to be vaccinated or not. For some, it’s a simple matter of weighing the risks vs. the efficacy of the vaccine. For others, there are other factors to consider, including sensitivity to some of the side effects.
“Follow the science,” Joe.
But state governors from both sides of the aisle hinted at frustration Tuesday that the administration acted too quickly and warned the White House that public confidence in vaccines, in general, might never recover.
The bad news comes at a critical time in the pandemic in which cases are surging in some parts of the country with a national daily average of 67,000. And, after more than a half a million deaths in one year, COVID-19 is now considered the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
The chances of getting this blood clot are less than one in a million doses. It certainly isn’t zero and for Biden to dismiss the legitimate concerns of some Americans with an obvious lie is unconscionable for a president.
“Look, I salute the CDC for erring on the side of caution to give everybody that sense of confidence,” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, Tuesday following a call between the governors and the White House.
“A number of the governors thought though that the White House team was a little naive when they said, ‘This is just gonna be a pause and then we restart our engines,'” he added.
"We want to get this worked out as quickly as we possibly can…I don't think it was pulling the trigger too quickly," Dr. Fauci tells @marykbruce after FDA and CDC call for pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine. https://t.co/XBm8wmP3Rz pic.twitter.com/PxXlyiXPCM
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 13, 2021
Fauci responded that while they believe the blood clots are extraordinarily rare, regulators needed to confirm that the scope of problem wasn’t bigger. Hitting the pause button on injections also gives the government time to warn health care providers not to treat these reactions with heparin, a commonly used blood thinner which is believed to worsen symptoms.
The hope was that health officials could resolve the issue by the end of the week by releasing a set of recommendations for health care providers on how to recognize the rare reaction and use treatments other than heparin.
With so little faith in the government to begin with, the idea that people are going to immediately call to reschedule their canceled vaccine appointments is absurd. This is a gaffe of epic proportions and will probably delay the nation returning to any semblance of normalcy by months.
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