In Key Joint Economic Committee Hearing, Heinrich Reinforces Public Trust In COVID-19 Vaccination Reviews

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), participated in a hearing titled “Vaccinations and the Economic Recovery.” If the United States continues its progress on vaccinating Americans against the coronavirus—a recent average of 3 million doses per day—then it will likely experience strong economic growth in 2021. Senator Heinrich recently helped secure $20 billion in the American Rescue Plan to supercharge nationwide vaccine distributions. 

Senator Heinrich is urging Americans to trust the federal review process and continue making plans to receive a vaccine. Senator Heinrich applauds the Biden administration's efforts to be transparent and thorough, including in the temporary pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate very rare cases of blood clots. He is encouraging the administration to maintain momentum on COVID-19 vaccines – a key component to economic recovery in New Mexico and across the country. 

VIDEO: In Key Joint Economic Committee Hearing, Vice Chair Heinrich Reinforces Public Trust In COVID-19 Vaccination Reviews [HD DOWNLOAD LINK HERE]

In today’s JEC hearing, Senator Heinrich asked, “How can we properly weigh the relative risk of COVID vs. the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine to ensure that we are saving as many lives as possible?” 

Dr. Céline Gounder, MD, a clinical assistant professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the NYU School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital, responded, “It’s really important to understand that the FDA has not pulled the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the market, that the emergency use authorization still stands, this is a just a pause – a time out – for the scientists to step back and review the data.” Dr. Gounder further noted that the current transparency from the FDA is key in retaining public trust with hard to reach communities. 

A video of the full hearing and a list of witnesses is available here.