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'Its reputation will be permanently challenged': Trump slams 'pause' in use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

By FOX 32 Digital Staff
Published  April 14, 2021 6:43pm CDT
Coronavirus Vaccine
FOX 32 Chicago

What you need to know about the suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Dr. David Zich from Northwestern Medicine talks about the latest medical headlines regarding COVID-19.

Former President Donald Trump released a statement this week stating that the Biden Administration 'did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world' by allowing the FDA and CDC to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

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"The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a 'pause' in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.  The results of this vaccine have been extraordinary but now its reputation will be permanently challenged," Trump said in his statement. 

Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for a pause on administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to dig deeper into reports from six women between the ages of 18 and 48 who said they fell ill with a "a rare and severe type of blood clot" – as described by the CDC – within two weeks of receiving the vaccine.

CDC calls for pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending review

Dr. Julie Morita, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation executive vice president, talks about the suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after discovering a handful of recipients developed rare blood clots.

Only one woman has died so far.

MORE: Doctors say 'don't panic' about Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Illinois public health officials followed the lead of federal authorities on Tuesday and suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while a potentially deadly side-effect is investigated.

The rest of the statement from the 45th president can be found below:

"The people who have already taken the vaccine will be up in arms, and perhaps all of this was done for politics or perhaps it’s the FDA’s love for Pfizer. The FDA, especially with long time bureaucrats within, has to be controlled.  They should not be able to do such damage for possibly political reasons, or maybe because their friends at Pfizer have suggested it.  They’ll do things like this to make themselves look important.  Remember, it was the FDA working with Pfizer, who announced the vaccine approval two days after the 2020 Presidential Election.  They didn’t like me very much because I pushed them extremely hard.  But if I didn’t, you wouldn’t have a vaccine for 3-5 years, or maybe not at all.  It takes them years to act!  Do your testing, clean up the record, and get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine back online quickly.  The only way we defeat the China Virus is with our great vaccines!"

The Associated Press and Fox News contributed to this report.