J&J reportedly pauses Covid vaccine production
The only Johnson & Johnson facility currently making usable batches of the company’s single-shot coronavirus vaccine has temporarily halted its production, CNBC said, citing a new report.
The Netherlands-based plant has instead focused on making a different, possibly more profitable vaccine aimed at a different virus, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The pause in production at the Leiden facility, which began late last year, could reduce the supply of J&J’s Covid vaccine by hundreds of millions of doses, one of those people told the Times.
It is unclear whether vaccine supplies have been been affected by the company’s move, according to the report. J&J is preparing to have the Leiden plant restart Covid vaccine production in March, the Times reported.
J&J spokesman Jake Sargent didn’t directly comment on the Times’ article. He told CNBC in a statement the company is “focused on ensuring our vaccine is available where people are in need,” and that it is fulfilling its obligations to the international groups trying to boost access to the Covid vaccine.
J&J is continuing to deliver batches of the vaccine materials to sites that bottle and package doses, and “we currently have millions of doses of our Covid-19 vaccine in inventory,” Sargent said.
“We are proud of the work of our many industry partners and the collaborations we have developed to produce our Covid-19 vaccine,” he said.