WASHINGTON – US drug maker Johnson & Johnson said Monday it will be able to deliver 20 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the United States by the end of March, assuming it gets approval from federal regulators.
J&J disclosed the figure in written testimony ahead of the congressional hearing scheduled for Tuesday that will review the country’s vaccine stockpile. Last week, White House officials warned that initial supplies of J & J’s vaccine, which require only one dose, would be limited.
The company reiterated it will have the capacity to deliver 100 million doses to the United States by the end of June. That supply will help the U.S. government achieve its goal of having enough vaccines to inoculate the majority of American adults this year. Internationally, the company aims to produce 1 billion doses by 2021.
Health regulators in the United States are continuing to review the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and are expected to decide this week whether to allow emergency use. J & J’s vaccine would be the first vaccine in the United States to require only one dose.
Currently available vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses to be administered several weeks apart.
Executives from both companies and two other vaccine manufacturers will also testify at the hearing on Tuesday.