Virginia health leaders address vaccine hesitancy following J&J pause and last updated 2021-04-14 07:45:31-04 RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's vaccination coordinator, Dr. Danny Avula, said he understood Virginians would have questions following the CDC and FDA's recommendation to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to a rare but serious side effect, but reiterated Tuesday that vaccine safety was of the utmost importance. According to the CDC, six people reported a severe type of blood clot, following their Johnson & Johnson vaccinations. On the day of his scheduled Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Ashland, Benjamin Scott woke up to the news. Instead of the one-and-done J&J vaccine, he'd get the first of the two-dose Moderna.