Covid-19 Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries across the United States are expected to drop by more than 80 percent next week, according to state and federal officials, as J&J faces production challenges.
The federal government has allocated only 700,000 doses of J&J vaccine to states, territories and certain US cities and federal agencies next week, compared to 4.9 million doses that were allocated for this week, according to information posted online by the Centers for Disease Control. Disease Control and Prevention. .
The expected sharp drop will complicate the mass vaccination plans of state officials at a time when they are relying on a higher dose to help immunize the growing number of people who become eligible.
It is unclear why next week’s offer falls so sharply, although federal officials have warned states that there could be fluctuations week by week.
J&J recently ran into a production problem at a contract factory in Baltimore – a factor cited by some state officials – but the factory was not authorized by U.S. regulators to supply cans for the U.S.