A federal vaccine advisory committee is reconvening Friday to discuss next steps for Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine after health officials recommended last week that states pause use while six U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot were reviewed.

That independent expert panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, last met April 14. It reviewed the decision made the day before by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to recommend a temporary halt in giving the vaccine following reports of a handful of blood clots among the more than 7.5 million people who had been inoculated at that time.

The panel said at that meeting it needed more data on the risks, cause and frequency of the rare brain blood clots before recommending a lift to the pause or other steps, such as restrictions based on age or gender.

Federal health authorities are leaning toward recommending that use of the vaccine resume, possibly as soon as this weekend — a move that would include a new warning about a rare complication involving blood clots but probably not call for age restrictions. The current stance of U.S. authorities was described by two government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Any advisory panel recommendation would need to be approved by CDC director Rochelle Walensky.

If the United States lifts the pause and adds a warning to the vaccine’s label, the position would be similar to one taken by Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, which said this week the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should carry a warning but placed no restrictions on its use. The European agency said the shot’s benefits continue to outweigh the risks.