Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Johnson & Johnson Pressured To Improve Covid Vaccine Supply
Politico: New Signs J&J May Not Be Able To Hit Vaccine Delivery Goal
The supply situation has frustrated administration officials trying to deliver on President Joe Biden’s directive to offer vaccines to all U.S. adults by May. The White House was counting on the single-dose J&J shot to reach underserved populations and accelerate the country’s return to normal. POLITICO on Monday reported that the administration is increasingly concerned the company won't make its target. White House officials told governors in a private call Tuesday that the federal retail pharmacy program is slated to receive 1.5 million J&J shots next week, according to one source on the call. States are set to receive around 2 million doses, according to three individuals with knowledge of the administration’s distribution plans. (Roubein and Banco, 3/23)
Roll Call: Johnson & Johnson Under Pressure To Deliver Promised Vaccine Doses
Johnson & Johnson is under pressure to deliver its promised 20 million vaccine doses by next week, as several state public health officials indicate they are receiving few or no shots this week and have no idea how much they’ll get later. The uncertainty comes at a time when the demand for vaccines continues to overwhelm supply, a weary country braces for the spread of viral variants and hundreds of people die from COVID-19 each day. It raises questions about how successful the company was in meeting a central goal of the massive U.S. investment in vaccine development: to manufacture sufficient supplies of shots before they were proven effective in order to hit the ground running. (Kopp, 3/23)
Axios: U.S. Approves Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine Plant
The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a Catalent Pharma plant in Bloomington, Indiana, allowing it to produce and ship doses of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine, the company announced Tuesday. The plant will help J&J increase COVID vaccine shipments this spring and eventually fulfill the 200 million doses the pharmaceutical company agreed to deliver to the United States, according to Bloomberg. (Knutson, 3/23)
