Can you still get the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine?
Johnson & Johnson has reportedly stopped the production of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, signaling that the company may cut back on its overall production of the vaccine.
The news: The New York Times reports that Johnson & Johnson quietly shut down production at a plant in the Netherlands, which was the only location that was creating usable doses of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine.
Yes, but: “The facility, in the Dutch city of Leiden, has instead been making an experimental but potentially more profitable vaccine to protect against an unrelated virus,” per The New York Times
- The halt in production will last temporarily, per The New York Times.
- It’s unclear if the shutdown will impact overall J&J vaccine supplies because there are stockpiles of the vaccine available.
The other side: J&J did not confirm the planet closure, but told CBS News that ”we currently have millions of doses of our COVID-19 vaccine in inventory” and “we continue to fulfill our contractual obligations … (to) the African Union.”
One thing to watch: In October 2021, Johnson & Johnson said it would commit about 50 million vaccines to COVAX, the global initiative to give vaccines throughout the world, according to The Hill.
- It’s unclear if the production shutdown would impact the distribution of those vaccines.
