During the recommended pause, at least 170,338 Johnson & Johnson shots were given and another 9.6 million doses that had been delivered to municipalities have gone unused.
A resumption of the vaccine for all adults could prevent 600 to 1,400 deaths from COVID-19, the CDC estimated.
The agency predicted that vaccinating all willing Americans could be delayed up to two weeks if the shots are not resumed for all adults.
“The benefits do clearly outweigh the risks from a population perspective and an individual perspective, and I think it’s reassuring to me anyway that while we don’t have all the information, I think we do have enough information to move forward,” said Dr. Beth Bell, a member of the panel and a former top CDC official.
The vote took place more than a week after the vaccine’s distribution was paused following the initial reports of the blood clots in eight people under the age of 50.
A CDC official told the panel that the agency planned to mount a “public education” response to awareness around the risks. Johnson & Johnson stated they agreed with the Food and Drug Administration on specific language for a warning to accompany the shot for healthcare professionals’ information.
The agency said it had observed a handful of clotting events among recipients of the Moderna and Pfizer shots as well, but none had the unusual and dangerous combination of low blood platelets seen in the 16 people following the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
“At the same time, I think that there is a real risk. It’s admittedly an extremely small risk, and smaller than many other risks that we choose to take every day. But nonetheless, there are alternatives at least for us in the United States,” remarked Dr. Bell.