Nonetheless, states were counting on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to fill important gaps in vaccination campaigns. Easier to store and transport — the vaccine can be kept at normal refrigeration temperatures for three months — states had begun using it in transformative ways, on homeless populations, migrant workers and college students.
Federal administrators divide vaccine doses nationwide based on each state’s adult population. That means that California will bear the brunt of the reduction: After receiving 572,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, it will get only 67,600 next week.
In Texas, the allocation will drop to 46,300 from 392,100. Florida, which received 313,200 shots this week, will get 37,000 next week. Guam, which received 16,900 doses this week, will receive none next week.
The mistake that ruined so many doses occurred a plant in southeast Baltimore run by Emergent BioSolutions. Earlier in the spring, federal officials had projected thatregulators would certify the plant by early April, and Johnson & Johnson would then be able deliver about four million doses a week beginning in April. Shipments are now limited to about 10 million doses a week from Moderna and more than 13 million a week from Pfizer.
Johnson & Johnson fell behind this winter on its production goals for the United States, delivering less than it had promised in February and March.
All of the doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine used so far in the United States came from a Dutch plant and were delivered on an uneven schedule. That led the Biden administration to warn state health officials that the supply of the vaccine would be variable.
But federal officials expected that with the help of the Emergent factory in Baltimore, there would be a steady stream of doses from the company in April. Now, with that plant still lacking authorization, the anticipated delivery schedule is up in the air.
Source : Nytimes
