Filenews 18 May 2021
Half of what was planned will be delivered to the European Union this week by Johnson & Johnson, a European official told Reuters.
J&J is facing supply problems after the preparation was sent to Europe. J&J has experienced production problems in the United States. According to the European official, the doses destined for Europe are produced both in the USA and at a factory in Leiden, the Netherlands.
Commitment for 55 million doses by end of June
The contracted pharmaceutical company has committed to deliver 55 million doses of its monodosic vaccine in the second quarter of the year. So far it has delivered less than 5 million, which is below 10% of the original target.
In addition to initial delays, deliveries this week are halved. According to the official, it is unclear how many doses will be delivered next week. The official did not say how many were scheduled to surrender this week. J&J did not respond to a request for comment on this information.
"We understand that there is only a limited, temporary reduction" in deliveries, which will be covered at a later stage, a European Commission spokesman said. Both the agency's source and the spokesman stressed that the company's goal remains to deliver the 55 million instalments it has promised by the end of June.
From the first deliveries appeared the problems
The company originally planned to start deliveries to the EU on 1 April, but postponed them until mid-month due to production problems. Deliveries were then suspended again for safety reasons, after the use of the vaccine was temporarily halted in the US, until its possible link to the occurrence of rare thromboembolism was examined. Deliveries to Europe resumed a week later.
To date, the companies had delivered 2.6 million doses to European countries, based on data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The European Commission, which has more up-to-information data on deliveries, confirmed that fewer than 5 million instalments have been received.
