Merck will help Johnson & Johnson produce more vaccines against COVID-19

Washington. Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co will help rival Johnson & Johnson produce its recently approved coronavirus vaccine in order to be able to deliver faster, a U.S. government official confirmed on Tuesday.

The announcement comes as the United States tries to boost production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires a single injection. Officials say J&J had problems and only produced 3.9 million doses before receiving emergency clearance on Saturday. The company says it is in the process of producing 100 million doses by the end of June.

Last week in an interpellation in Congress, J&J Vice President Richard Nettles stated that the company has suffered “significant challenges” in its production due to its “extremely complicated” manufacturing process.

Merck’s offer will likely help J&J meet its production goals and increase its supply, but so far the government has not given details.

President Joe Biden is expected to address the issue in a speech on Tuesday afternoon. The government estimates it will have enough doses of the three approved vaccines to inoculate all eligible citizens by mid-June, although disposing of the vaccines at medical centers could take a little longer.

It was unclear when Merck’s aid in providing the injections would take effect. Earlier, federal officials had warned that it could take months to assemble the complicated production lines.

A second official source indicated that Merck will dedicate two plants to the production process: one to make the vaccine and the other to place the substance in jars and apply quality controls.

The two official sources who disclosed Merck’s intentions spoke on condition of anonymity. The Washington Post was the first to break the news.

A few weeks ago Merck had suspended its plans to develop a vaccine, seeing that the results of its tests were disappointing compared to those of other companies. He announced at the time that he would focus on treatments for COVID-19.

Compared to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, J&J vaccines require a single injection and are less complicated to administer, becoming a key part of the US plan to export the remedy to the rest of the world. , although this only once the American population is inoculated. The J&J vaccine needs to be stored in cold but not freezing temperatures, and does not force the patient to return four weeks later for a second injection.