(1/x) It’s no surprise that the abundantly cautious distribution “pause” of the J&J COVID vaccine has dominated today’s news cycle— from a ‘boots-on-the-ground’ perspective however, this pause brings forth a few more layered concerns as we move forward in community vaccination.

(2/x) A bit of notable context: most municipalities have had *extremely limited* quantities of J&J vaccine on-hand to date (only arriving in 3+ week “waves” due to overwhelming demand), continuing to rely on steady streams of Moderna & Pfizer product for mass vaccination clinics.

(3/x) The J&J product requested was, in many cases, earmarked for more transient or “difficult to reach” populations— ie. folks who might not remain in the area, or readily able to travel/commute receive their boost vaccine within the manufacturers’ 4-6 week vaccine timeline.

(4/x) What this distribution “pause” means, is new plans are urgently needed for these pops— those who are often considered vulnerable for additional measures beyond being “difficult to reach” (ie. incarcerated, homebound, etc.), and often need specialized logistics to address.

(5/x) For regional mass vaccination sites and communities with more varied access to the healthcare continuum, this “pause” is unlikely to impact scheduled vaccination activities— beyond adding more heated science communication needs and complications.

(6/x) In fact, with the inclusion of a myriad of independent pharmacy networks— many of which coming on-line within the previous month— Moderna/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are more readily available (in the majority of regions) than ever before, with new appointments added daily.

(7/x) Coming full circle: part of the scientific process is assessing outcome(s) on a continuous basis for error and outliers— and its the result of citizen reported symptoms post-vaccine that we have a better picture of what side effects look like, for example.

(8/8) Without addressing “debate” over statistically significant theorized association (NOT causation), I would note that by focusing on data without considering what the “pause”means for distribution strategy & public health planning, we’re only understanding 1/2 of the picture.