The White House says the United States will continue to have enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of next month, despite problems with a single batch of “drugs,” which have led to the loss of 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“We are still on track to have the number of doses we need to vaccinate all American adults by the end of May,” Psaki said Monday. This was not even a facility that was approved by the FDA.
She went on to say that the US “does not bet on these doses” and that Johnson & Johnson “assured us that we will receive the 24 million doses they promised in April.”
Pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on whether the problems could contribute to the vaccine’s hesitation in the United States, Psaki replied, “I haven’t seen that.”
That’s why the FDA approval process is in place, she said. “In many ways, the process worked because the FDA had not approved the site. Steps have been taken to address some of the issues and we also have a number of contingency plans. ”
“When we all talk here about“ why did we order so many doses, why are we when we split the doses with each country around the world? “Part of that is because we have to plan for the things that will happen. Things like that come up, “she said.
“We have to plan a series of unforeseen situations,” Psaki added. “This is one of the many reasons why we will still be in a place where we have enough vaccines for American adults by the end of May.”
Some information: As previously reported by CNN, a source familiar with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine manufacturing process told CNN on Saturday that the loss was not a major obstacle.
Johnson & Johnson said a single batch of “medicinal products” failed the quality control inspection and was discarded. The company’s vaccine, which is currently distributed in the United States, is manufactured in a factory in the Netherlands, but Emergent BioSolutions, a contract manufacturer, was producing doses in a Baltimore unit. The factory was awaiting authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration when the contamination problem was reported.
“Once the plant is back in operation, the way this particular vaccine is made in these large batches, compensating this batch should not be a major obstacle. It should be an obstacle for just a few weeks, “the source told CNN.
Emergent was also preparing a vaccine for AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not yet been authorized in the United States. Like Johnson & Johnson, the AstraZeneca vaccine uses a virus to carry genetic material – the so-called viral vector.
Emergent and Johnson & Johnson said the quality control measures caught the problem. None of the vaccines made at the plant were shipped for vials or distributed, and officials stressed that none were endangered due to contamination.
CNN reported that the company has been witnessing the production of Covid-19 vaccines for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca for months, according to a source familiar with the situation.
In addition to the batch of 15 million doses to be discarded, Emergent has successfully produced 115 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is at various stages in the supply chain, the source said.
The source added that “it is not so unusual” for the pharmaceutical industry to have to eliminate batches of vaccine and that Emergent and J&J detected the contamination before any of the affected doses delivered “show that the system works.”