Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Emergent Factory Hid Vaccine Troubles From FDA, Congressional Report Finds
The New York Times: Emergent Hid Evidence Of Covid Vaccine Problems At Plant, Report Says
Emergent BioSolutions, a longtime government contractor hired to produce hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses, hid evidence of quality control problems from Food and Drug Administration inspectors in February 2021 — six weeks before it alerted federal officials that 15 million doses had been contaminated. The disclosure came in a report released Tuesday by House Democrats, who said that all told, nearly 400 million doses of coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Emergent had to be destroyed “due to poor quality control.” Previous estimates of lost vaccine were far lower; no contaminated doses were ever released to the public. (Stolberg, Hamby and LaFraniere, 5/10)
The Baltimore Sun: 400 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Dumped By Baltimore Plant, Congressional Report Finds
The Maryland-based vaccine maker Emergent BioSolutions was forced to destroy nearly 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine because of potential contamination at its East Baltimore plant, far more than previously known. Further, the company sought to hide deficiencies from federal and outside inspectors at the Bayview site, built with millions of dollars of federal support, and continued to promote its manufacturing capabilities despite warnings of those deficiencies. (Cohn, 5/10)
AP: House Panel Alleges Cover-Up By Contract Vaccine Maker
The report said inexperienced staff and high turnover rates contributed to vaccine contamination. The problem-plagued Baltimore factory was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2021 due to the contamination. The company was forced to trash what was thought to be the equivalent of tens of millions of doses of vaccine it was making for Johnson & Johnson. The bulk vaccine had been contaminated with an ingredient for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was being made in the same factory. (5/10)
The Washington Post: Emergent Sought To Conceal Vaccine Production Problems, House Report Says
Emergent said Tuesday it has been fully cooperative with government agencies and its manufacturing partners. It said the committee’s estimate of 400 million doses destroyed is inaccurate, based on a poor understanding of biomedical manufacturing. “Emergent has been open and forthcoming with the FDA, Congress and our partners about the work at our Bayview site and the challenges that were encountered including providing thousands of documents, willingly participating in a congressional hearing and inviting them to visit our facilities,” Emergent spokesman Matt Hartwig said in an email. (Rowland, 5/10)
