The White House said Friday that Johnson & Johnson will deliver at least 11 million doses next week, a significant increase to meet the company’s goal of 20 million total doses delivered to the U.S. by the end of March.
It was not known if the company would be able to reach the 20 million dose target, as Johnson & Johnson were experiencing uneven manufacturing.
But coordinator of the White House coronavirus response Jeff Zients
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“The company has said it will deliver the 20 million by the end of March,” Zients said during a press conference. “And from our conversations with the company, they appear on track to achieve that goal with at least 11 million doses delivered next week.”
The White House has been working with the company to try to increase its manufacturing. There were a relatively small number of doses, 4 million, available when the vaccine was authorized in late February.
Supply was also lacking in early March, but now the company has significantly increased its production.
“We’ve done a lot to help J&J,” Zients said. “We’re monitoring it very closely.”
Pfizer and Moderna, which have had more stable manufacturing processes, are also on track to meet their targets by the end of March, Zients said. Pfizer had previously set a target of 120 million total doses by the end of March, with 100 million for Modern.
President Biden
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About half of the states will have opened the requirements for all adults by mid-April, Zients said. Biden has set a goal for all states to open eligibility to all adults before May 1st.