NewsCoronavirus

Actions

Johnson & Johnson to fall short on promise to provide 10M doses of vaccine by end of month

Johnson and Johnson
Posted
and last updated

The White House said Wednesday that it was "surprised" to learn in recent days that Johnson & Johnson would not be able to meet its previously agreed-to commitment to provide 10 million doses of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to the federal government by the end of February.

According to CBS News, Dr. Richard Nettles, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen's vice president of medical affairs, told a House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday that it would not be able to provide the previously-promised 10 million doses.

Nettles told the committee that Johnson & Johnson would only be able to provide 4 million doses at most by next weekend.

In a report released Wednesday, the FDA deemed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be safe and effective, keeping the candidate on track for widespread distribution by early next week,

The announcement means that Johnson & Johnson will be behind the eight ball if the FDA, as expected, approves the vaccine for emergency use authorization by the weekend.

Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response team coordinator, confirmed in a briefing Wednesday that the federal government would be shipping between 3 and 4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to states as soon as it is approved for Emergency Use Authorization.

During a White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration was “surprised” to learn that Johnson & Johnson would not be meeting its goal.

"We're going to continue to work them to ensure that can be expedited," Psaki said.