Response of Unvaccinated US Adults to Official Information About the Pause in Use of the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine

On April 13, 2021 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended in a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J)-Janssen COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in recently vaccinated individuals. The announcement of the pause required development of a coordinated communication strategy under extreme time pressure and careful messaging by stakeholders to mitigate reduced public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, as was observed following the temporary suspension of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in many countries. In this survey study, we evaluated understanding and impressions of the CDC’s public online information about the J&J-Janssen pause among unvaccinated US adults.