Johnson & Johnson is facing unexpected delays in the manufacturing of its coronavirus vaccine; and may not be able to supply as many doses it promised the US government by spring; the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
US federal officials have been told that J&J has fallen behind its original production schedule and will not catch up until the end of April; when it agreed to deliver more than 60 million doses, the NYT reported citing people familiar with the situation.
Earlier this week, J&J’s chief executive officer said; the company was on track to have close to a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses by 2021-end; and that it was in the final stages of analyzing data from a large trial of the vaccine.
J&J and the US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
In August, J&J signed a $1 billion contract with the US government to supply up to 100 million doses by mid-2021.
Approval for J&J’s vaccine could help speed up the vaccination effort in the United States as it likely requires a single dose; unlike the two currently approved vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc; which are to be administered in two-dose series weeks apart.
J&J said in December it expects interim data from the late-stage trial by the end of January.
