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Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021

Is Johnson & Johnson behind on manufacturing goals for its COVID-19 vaccine?

Remaya Campbell, Gigafact Foundry
yes

Required U.S. regulatory approval could come as soon as Feb. 27 for a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, but manufacturing of the vaccine is running behind schedule.

The New York Times reported on Feb. 24 that the company will have four million does ready to ship at the end of February. Originally the company promised triple that volume by then. By the end of March the company will still be 17 million doses short of the original goals laid out last August, when the U.S. government ordered 100 million does of the vaccine. The company “insists” it will fulfill the total $1 billion order by the end of June, the Times said.

Federal regulators released analyses confirming that the new vaccine is safe, “with noticeably milder side effects than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and without any reports of severe allergic reactions like anaphylaxis,” the Times added.

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