Johnson & Johnson said Monday it plans to have sufficient doses of its vaccine for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March if the vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The vaccine is eagerly awaited as the next in line to join the COVID-19 vaccines already in use by Pfizer and Moderna. An FDA advisory committee will meet on Friday to consider the application, and an emergency permit may be issued soon after.
The company first gave some specificity on Monday regarding the number of doses it will have immediately available. The vaccine, unlike those from Pfizer and Moderna, only needs one dose, so 20 million doses would completely vaccinate 20 million people.
“Based on the necessary regulatory approvals related to our manufacturing processes, our plan is to begin shipping immediately upon emergency use clearance and deliver enough single doses by the end of March to enable the vaccination of more than 20 million Americans,” said Richard Nettles president of US medical affairs for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, said in prepared comments to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The comments were posted online by the committee ahead of Tuesday’s hearing with several vaccine manufacturers.
The company also said it remains on track to have 100 million doses by the end of the first half of the year.
Johnson & Johnson’s doses, assuming they are FDA approved, can speed up the vaccination program by adding to the doses already available from Pfizer and Moderna, and if you only need one dose, this can help the process. simplify.
White House officials had previously said they weren’t expecting many Johnson & Johnson doses immediately.
Separately, Pfizer is also stepping up its offering. John Young, the company’s chief business officer, said in a testimony from the committee that the company will be able to ramp up production to 13 million doses per week by mid-March, from 4 to 5 million per week in early February. . .
The company says it remains on track for 120 million doses by the end of March and 200 million doses by the end of May.