An advisory panel is set to meet Friday to determine the future of the United States’ use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine more than a week after regulators recommended a pause amid reports of rare but severe blood clotting disorder.

What You Need To Know

  • An advisory panel is set to meet Friday to determine the future of the United States’ use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

  • Federal regulators recommended a pause more than a week ago amid reports of rare but severe blood clotting disorder

  • The CDC has learned of 15 rare blood clot cases connected to the vaccine; Of the 15, all have been women, 13 were under the age of 50, 3 have died and 7 were hospitalized.

  • The European Union's top regulatory agency ruled this week that tbe benefits of the shot outweighed the risks, but said the vaccine should come with a warning about possible links to blood clots

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory panel — the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — could rule that the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks, clearing the way for the federal government to resume use of the single-shot inoculation.

There are currently 10 million J&J shots awaiting arms once the pause is lifted, according to data from the CDC.

According to Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a member of the CDC task force on COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC has learned of 15 rare blood clot cases connected to the vaccine. Of the 15, all have been women, 13 were under the age of 50. Three have died and 7 were hospitalized.

“Since two of my grandchildren have received it, I’m very much hoping that we will come forward with a positive sense here of how this vaccine can save lives,” former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins said in an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” Friday.

“This is a one-in-a-million kind of risk that’s been identified of this rare blood clotting problem,” Dr. Collins continued, “And yet at the same time, the CDC’s advisory committee is gonna look seriously at all the data and try to make a recommendation.” 

Dr. Collins called it “encouraging” that the European Union’s top regulatory body ruled that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risk, but should come with a warning about the possible links to rare blood clots, earlier this week. 

According to multiple reports, federal health authorities are leaning toward making a similar move, but that position could change if a surge of blood clot cases were reported.

Asked about the shot in a briefing, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said she was eager to see it back on the market but left the assesment of its risk up the committee meeting on Friday.

“I think the FDA and I both feel strongly — and the CDC feel strongly — that we need to act swiftly after that analysis,” Walensky said. “But I do think that there's plenty of people who are interested in the J&J vaccine if just for convenience, as well as for a single dose option.”

The CDC is investigating a the death of a woman in her 50s in Oregon who developed a rare blood clot within two weeks of receiving the J&J vaccine, and a woman in Texas was recently hospitalized with possible blood clots, in addition to the six cases, including one death, initially reported at the time of the pause.

Dr. Collins expressed that the blood clots are treatable if physicians know what to look out for.

“I think it is important to point out that this is a treatable condition if you recognize it right away,” Dr. Collins added, noting that this pause has been beneficial to make people aware of the risk, as well as to inform physicians how to treat it “appropriately.”

A lift in the pause could come at a precarious time for the United States’ vaccination efforts — despite expanded eligibility, vaccine demand is on the decline.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the seven-day average for daily vaccinations fell each day from April 12 to 17, the last day numbers were available. The only other dip since COVID-19 vaccines hit the market was recorded in February, when winter storms forced vaccination sites to close and shipments to be delayed.

As of Friday, at least 135 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccines, with nearly 90 million people fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

The Biden administration has been working to combat vaccine hesitancy since President Joe Biden took office. On Wednesday, Biden called on companies to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated or recover from side effects, and announced a tax credit for small and medium-size businesses that do so.

The administration is also working to ensure that 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a vaccination site as well as calling on businesses, celebrities, faith leaders and doctors to help promote the shots, among other steps.

At the same time, the Biden Administration celebrated 200 million COVID-19 shots in his first 100 days in office this week, surpassing his initial goal of 100 million in 100 days by double.