Oklahoma congressman Frank Lucas was joined this week by another Republican on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in demanding to know from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration their scientific basis to pause use of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
Rep. Jay Obernolte of California joined him in sending a letter to the two federal agencies.
“We are concerned that the pause could ultimately do more harm than good,” said Rep. Lucas. “Fewer than one case per million reported developing the rare blood clot after receiving the J&J vaccine, which raises concern that the “pause” may be an overreaction with unintended, adverse consequences.”
He and Obernolte suggest the decision might further increase vaccine hesitancy and even fuel conspiracy theories and disinformation about the benefits of getting vaccinated.
“The longer it takes to resolve this situation, the greater the risk that vaccine hesitancy and disinformation about vaccines will increase as a result,” added Lucas.
Obernolte and Lucas are requesting a Member-level briefing on the science, data, and information used to inform this decision.
Read the full letter here.