Abundance of Caution

The CDC and FDA are recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an "abundance of caution" while an investigation is conducted into six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot.https://t.co/sKaN16AIP9

— NPR (@NPR) April 13, 2021

You know what needs to be paused? At the end of the pandemic, I really am going to be tired of the phrase "abundance of caution" because I don't think people are in any kind of agreement about what that means. It's trying to convey "we are taking this very seriously, but/so don't freak out" but maybe everyone's pre-set gauge of "freak-out" to "bravado" is set different to start with and after a prolonged period of disruption, are also now a bit out of whack. People are trying to think with their heads, but aren't experts and end up having "gut-feelings". 

One in a million incidence of clotting (without certainty of a causal relationship) compared to the bad odds of COVID-19 with respect to serious illness and death don't overly alarm me--but maybe I'm not the person "abundance of caution" type phrases are for.