After the significant backlash to its egregious decision to call for a halt in the administration of Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, the FDA made the following clarification:
WASHINGTON (AP) — FDA says pause of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate clots to last 'matter of days.'
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) April 13, 2021
The problem is that the damage is already done. Even if the halt suggestion is reversed by the end of the week, vaccine-skeptical Americans are going to be more hesitant to take vaccines, which is going to increase their risk of catching and spreading COVID-19, as well as the possibility that they will become vectors for variants to develop. In other words, all of the scenarios that public-health officials have been warning us about and using as a justification for endless closures of businesses and schools will get worse as a result of the initial announcement.
Update: Judson Berger cites a doctor who calls the announcement a “devastating blow” that will be difficult “to walk back.