Covid response chief has no regrets on Johnson & Johnson pause

White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said it was “not at all” a mistake to place a hold on the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, rebuffing the idea that doing so made vaccinating the country any more difficult.

Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Zients said if anything, the Food and Drug Administration’s hold on the vaccine helped build confidence that people know that the FDA and the CDC are monitoring.

“The FDA is the gold standard in the world,” Zients said on “State of the Union.” “Doing the pause was the right thing.”