Iowa governor touts receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccine amid pause: ‘I would do it again’

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who received a shot of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, touted its effectiveness on Wednesday after health officials called for a pause in use following cases of rare blood clots in six women who received the shots.

Reynolds said she “would do it again.”

“I’m glad that I did have the opportunity to have the J&J vaccine, and I would do it again,” she said during a news conference, according to the Des Moines Register. “Vaccination is the best defense against the virus, and as you’ve heard, the reward far outweighs the risk.” 

The Iowa governor also weighed in on how she believes the pause will affect overall vaccine distribution within her state, noting that the state is continuing to make adjustments concerning vaccine allocation, the Register reported.

“The immediate impact of this decision on our vaccine supply should be manageable,” Reynolds said.

The state was initially making an effort to distribute the J&J shots to state residents like college students and the homeless who may benefit from the convenience of a single shot. The vaccine currently only makes up 4 percent of total vaccine doses administered in Iowa, the Register reported.

On Wednesday, top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said the decision to pause the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could help to diminish vaccine hesitancy.

“One of the most important reasons why people have hesitancy is they’re concerned about the safety. The very fact that you have an organization, two organizations, the CDC and the FDA, looking so carefully at this, making safety the primary concern, in my mind, confirms or underscores the situation that we take safety very seriously,” he said, referring to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Earlier this month, the White House called on state governors to help boost confidence in the J&J vaccine. Several got the shot publicly in an effort to show that the vaccine is safe and effective.