Dr. Mark McClellan, Johnson & Johnson board member, told CNBC that “if the clinical trial is successful,” the company could significantly increase the availability of the Covid vaccine in the nation in the coming weeks.
“ I know J&J supplies a very large supply and is pulling out all the stops, both here in the US and elsewhere in the world, with the goal of having enough vaccines for 100 million Americans by spring, by April or April. . so, ”said the former FDA Commissioner in an interview on Thursday night about“ The News with Shepard Smith. ”
During remarks at the White House on Thursday, Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease physician, said Johnson & Johnson would have enough data on its vaccine to begin the analysis within a week or two. McClellan told host Shepard Smith that the most important thing for the company’s vaccine is the large-scale clinical trial now underway.
“The independent scientists overseeing that research should take a closer look based on those results in the very near future, and we’ll see how quickly the vaccine can move forward,” McClellan said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has received an average of about 883,000 injections of the Covid vaccine a day in the past six days. Despite this, less than 50% of the 37,960,000 doses distributed ended up in people’s arms.
At least 12 states have reported vaccine shortages. Officials from San Francisco and New York warned that they may have run out of doses at all this week. At least 15 vaccination centers in New York City have been temporarily closed. New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio told NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez that at least 23,000 vaccination appointments must be rescheduled.
McClellan noted that “the supply will increase, but probably not enough to keep up with the large number of Americans who now really want to get vaccinated.” However, he told Smith he thinks the Biden administration can help accelerate the speed of the vaccine rollout.
“It’s going to be challenging, but I think the supply will be there in the coming months to vaccinate even more than 100 million Americans,” said McClellan, a health policy expert at Duke University.
President Joe Biden pledged a “full war effort” to combat the coronavirus pandemic and accelerate vaccine production using the Defense Production Act at a briefing Thursday.
“We have already identified suppliers and are working with them to move the plan forward,” said Biden.
He added that the DPA would help solve supply chain problems, including a shortage of syringes.