Johnson & Johnson Supply to Fall 80% Next Week

The federal government allocated 4.9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine for this week, sending them to states, cities, territories, and US agencies. Next week, the supply will plummet to 700,000 doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a drop of more than 80%. When doses sent directly to suppliers are added, the total reaches about 1.5 million doses, down from 11 million for this week, the Biden administration said. The reason for the drastic change hasn't been announced, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 15 million doses the product were ruined at a plant in Baltimore, and Johnson & Johnson expects its supply to be down until the Food and Drug Admnistration clears the plant, per USA Today.

A White House task force official said the company could hit 8 million doses delivered by the end of April. Johnson & Johnson is "obviously earlier in their manufacturing process," the White House official said. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, he said, Johnson & Johnson isn't "in the weekly cadence, regular cadence." The administration had warned that supplies could fluctuate. The European Union's deliveries aren't affected, because it relies on a separate supply chain. But the drop in supply will hinder the US vaccination program, per the New York Times. All Johnson & Johnson doses distributed in the US so far were manufactured in the Netherlands. (More Johnson & Johnson stories.)