When the topic of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was broached, Polite revealed that there was conflict among doctors regarding whether or not it should be paused. She was quick to point out, however, that she was on the side of the medical pool which favored the halt. As concerns about rare blood clotting have increased in past weeks, Polite confirmed that there is a “less than one in a million chance you can get blood clots” from the shot.
Nunez agreed, adding that the medical community must be transparent with the public as it has been monitoring the vaccine for the past four to five months. She emphasized that the vaccine uptick continues to gain momentum and that there is only a 30% “wait and see” mindset among African Americans.
“There are barriers to [earning] vaccine confidence,” she said. “There is real-world evidence that benefits outweigh the risks. This is in fact a personal choice and we should be empowering with facts and [viable] information.”
