Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
J&J Covid Vaccine Shortage Will Hit Rollout Efforts Next Week
Reuters: U.S. Allotting 85% Less J&J Vaccines To States Next Week, Data Shows
The U.S. government will allot nearly 85% less Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to states next week, data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed. Only 785,500 J&J doses will be allocated, compared to 4.95 million doses this week. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and J&J did not immediately respond to requests, made outside regular hours, for comment on the drop in numbers. (4/8)
Bay Area News Group: California Expecting Nearly 90% Fewer J&J Vaccines Next Week
California is expecting about 90% fewer Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses next week, marking a significant decrease in the total number of doses that will lead to fewer first-time appointments, even as the state expands eligibility to any resident over age 16 on April 15. State health officials anticipate that allocations of all COVID-19 vaccines will drop by 367,000 doses next week to about 2 million total, down from about 2.4 million doses received this week, said California Department of Public Health spokesperson Darrel Ng said Wednesday night. Doses are expecting to drop again to about 1.9 million the week after next. (Kelliher, 4/7)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘A Turning Point’: Thousands In Pa. Prisons Will Be Offered COVID-19 Vaccine
All people who live and work inside Pennsylvania’s prisons will soon be offered the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, ending a long wait exacerbated by a lack of transparency about coronavirus infections. At least 11 of the state’s 23 prisons have started to receive the vaccine, with thousands of inmates and corrections staff expected to be offered a shot in coming weeks, according to corrections officials and incarcerated people. (Darius Jaafari, 4/8)
In updates on the Maryland plant that manufactures Johnson & Johnson vaccines —
The New York Times: Top Official Warned That Covid Vaccine Plant Had To Be ‘Monitored Closely’
A top federal pandemic official warned last June that Emergent BioSolutions, the government contractor that last month threw out millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines because of contamination, lacked enough trained staff and had a record of problems with quality control. A copy of the official’s assessment, obtained by The New York Times, cited “key risks” in relying on Emergent to handle the production of vaccines developed by both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca at Emergent’s Bayview plant in Baltimore. (Stolberg, LaFraniere and Hamby, 4/7)
