(Reuters) – The United States has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a factory that destroyed 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and stopped British drug maker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, an official said on Saturday. health.
J&J said it “takes full responsibility” for the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.
The Department of Health and Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an email, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, has said it will work with President Joe Biden’s administration to find an alternative place to produce the vaccine.
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The development, first reported by the New York Times, continues to hamper AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States. The government has criticized the drug manufacturer for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine study. He later revised his study.
Workers at the Emergent BioSolutions plant a few weeks ago combined ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Times said earlier this week. J&J said at the time that the ruined batch had not advanced to the completion and finishing stage.
The government’s decision to make the facility only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future confusion, the Times said, citing two senior federal health officials.
The top US infectious disease doctor told Reuters on Thursday that the country may not need the AstraZeneca vaccine, even if it is approved.
The United States has loan agreements to send Mexico and Canada about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, made at the US headquarters.
Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Vishal Vivek in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Edited by David Gregorio and William Mallard