The U.S. is still hoping to meet its goal of administering COVID-19 vaccines despite Johnson & Johnson struggling with production, a senior White House aide said Monday.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to President Biden’s coronavirus response team, said the drug maker is still on track to deliver 24 million doses in April.
“You can expect even without additional doses of Johnson & Johnson that we are somewhere in this neighborhood,” Slavitt said at a press conference about the coronavirus.
“You do the math. There is plenty of supply to continue vaccinating Americans at 3 million a day, and then some. Not to mention the fact that there are many doses that have already been distributed in the states. “
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said vaccine deliveries would plummet more than 80 percent this week, though the cause is unclear.
Some state officials blamed a contract plant in Baltimore, where at least 15 million shots were contaminated when workers mixed ingredients with another shot.
But the manufacturing plant was not yet authorized to supply doses anyway and is currently awaiting approval from U.S. regulators.
“We are pleased that Johnson and Johnson, meanwhile, have taken control of the plant and eliminated the confounding factor of another vaccine being produced there,” Slavitt said.
“And they’re still confident they’ll be able to deliver about $ 24 million this month and about $ 100 million in May.”