CDC examining 'handful' of additional severe cases possibly linked to J&J vaccine

The U.S. is looking into additional cases of severe side effects possibly linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

"These have been a handful of cases, not an overwhelming number of cases," Walensky said at a White House briefing on Monday. "We are working through and adjudicating them, and verifying whether they do, in fact, reflect a true case."

The CDC and Food and Drug Administration called for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six in nearly 7 million recipients reported severe adverse reactions, including blood clotting, once they received it.

Though Walensky insisted the number of possible new cases with serious reactions to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine aren't large, it is still unclear how many more there are in addition to the ones that have already been reported.

A decision to lift a suspension on the distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccine could come as early as Friday when a CDC panel meets to discuss the findings.

"I believe we'll get back with it and there might be some restrictions," said Dr. Anthony Fauci on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "Not sure what that will be, whether they'll be age or sex or whether they'll just come back with a warning of some sort."

The Biden administration and federal regulators argue that the suspension of administering the J&J vaccine shows that the health care system's infrastructure is working and shows that the oversight of the vaccine distribution is effective.

But the temporary pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could also be raising questions among Americans who are already skeptical of taking any vaccine to begin with.

"We leave it up to you. Look at the data, the data speak for themselves," Fauci said. "We all want normalcy in America, the highway to that normalcy is vaccination."

At this point, the Biden administration has also made it clear that it does not intend to divert vaccine supply away from states where vaccination numbers are still coming in low.

"We are not going to quote-unquote punish, less -- less-ready areas," said White House COVID-19 response coordinator Andy Slavitt. "We're going to actually work harder with them to make sure that people have the information they need."

With all Americans 16-years-old and up now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Fauci said that it's concerning to see certain portions of the American population still hesitant to take the vaccine.

"It's very disturbing that on the basis of political persuasion people are not wanting to get vaccinated," said Dr. Fauci on CBS This Morning. "Those are the ones that keep saying you're encroaching on our liberties by asking us to wear masks and to do the kinds of restrictions that are public health issues. The easiest way to get out of that is to get vaccinated."