US Ends Pause On Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Says More Benefits Than Risks

The officials said the benefits of the single-shot vaccine far outweigh the risks from a rare and severe type of blood clot.

Federal health officials lifted a pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine Friday night after an extensive safety review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The officials said the benefits of the single-shot vaccine far outweigh the risks from a rare and severe type of blood clot. The decision to lift the pause allows state and local officials to resume immediately giving the vaccine they have available on shelves, CDC officials said. The FDA has updated patient and health care provider fact sheets for use as early as Saturday, and both agencies will publish additional education and communication materials by early next week. The agencies had halted the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week because of reports of six cases of blood clots among the millions of people who had received the vaccine in the United States.