Poll shows most support Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause as ‘responsible’

An Axios-Ipsos poll released Tuesday found most Americans back the pause of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, calling it “responsible.”

The survey, conducted April 16-19, found that 91 percent of Americans had heard of the pause on the vaccine. Of those who had heard of the vaccine, 88 percent said they believed the FDA and CDC were “being responsible” by recommending the pause.

There was high bipartisan support for this sentiment, with 91 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Republicans saying the agencies acted responsibly.

The survey also found that the pause didn’t affect Americans’ likelihood of getting the vaccine. Only 20 percent say they won’t get the vaccine, holding pace from when Axios conducted their survey in January.

Why it matters: The poll appears to negate fears that the pause would do more harm than good by aggravating vaccine hesitancy across the country. Vaccine hesitancy is still a concern, it just doesn’t appear that the J&J issue has made it any worse.