As a doctor and volunteer in the J&J clinical trial who received the vaccine <2 weeks ago, here's my take on the recommendation for the FDA & CDC pause for the Johnson & Johnson #covid19 #vaccine: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/johnson-johnson-vaccine-blood-clots-fda-cdc.html

(1) This is exactly the right move. All possibly concerning safety signals should be immediately & transparently investigated.

This shows that regulatory entities are doing their job. Even something very rare (6 cases out of 7 million) will be immediately looked into.

(2) The events flagged (blood clots with low platelets) are extremely rare. Causation hasn't been established. The reason this really needs to be alerted now is for doctors who may see patients with this rare condition, to know what to look for and how to treat them.

(3) This is critical: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have a different mechanism than J&J.

Over 100 million people have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the U.S. without these safety concerns.

People should continue taking these vaccines to prevent #covid19.

(4) To be sure, this is a disappointing setback, because the one-dose J&J has so much potential for easy distribution & administration.

This, again, is why a thorough investigation is occurring--I'm confident that this is what the FDA & CDC are doing. /END