The only Johnson & Johnson facility making usable batches of their single-shot COVID-19 vaccine has temporarily halted its production, according to a new report from The New York Times.
Johnson & Johnson, “which has already fallen far behind on its deliveries to poorer countries, late last year quietly shut down the only plant making usable batches of the vaccine, according to people familiar with the decision,” The New York Times reported.
“The facility, in the Dutch city of Leiden, has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus,” The New York Times added. “The halt is temporary — the Leiden plant is expected to start churning out the Covid vaccine again after a pause of a few months — and it is not clear whether it has had an impact on vaccine supplies yet, thanks to stockpiles.”
However, sources familiar with the decision warned that “over the next several months, the interruption has the potential to reduce the supply of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine by a few hundred million doses… Other facilities have been hired to produce the vaccine but either aren’t up and running yet or haven’t received regulatory approval to send what they’re making to be bottled.”
According to CNBC, Johnson & Johnson spokesman Jake Sargent did not directly comment on the report from The New York Times, but told CNBC that the company is “focused on ensuring our vaccine is available where people are in need.”
Sargent said that Johnson & Johnson is still delivering batches of vaccine materials to facilities that bottle and package doses, and that the company “currently [has] millions of doses of our Covid-19 vaccine in inventory.”
“We are proud of the work of our many industry partners and the collaborations we have developed to produce our Covid-19 vaccine,” he added.