White House: J&J pause won't have 'significant impact' on vaccination pace

Federal health agencies' recommended pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine won’t have a “significant impact” on the Biden administration's vaccination plan, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a statement Tuesday.

Despite the recommended pause of the single-dose vaccine, the U.S. will be able to hit President Joe Biden’s goal of 200 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office, Zients said.

“This announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan: Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date,” Zients said in a statement Tuesday.

Pfizer's and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines have made up the vast majority of U.S. vaccinations thus far, and the U.S. has procured enough doses of those two vaccines for 300 million people, the White House said Tuesday. More than 25 million doses have been free for use weekly, with 28 million available this week, Zients said.

“This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the President’s goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office—and continue on to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated,” Zients said in the statement.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended pausing use of the vaccine Tuesday amid six reported cases of a rare and serious blood clot out of the nearly 7 million Americans who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The FDA’s top vaccine regulator said the move was made out of “an abundance of caution."

Zients said the administration is working to "quickly" reschedule people slated to receive a J&J shot for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.