Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to reach Americans' arms 'within the next 24 to 48 hours,' CEO says
J&J agreed to supply US with 100 million doses by June
Johnson & Johnson began shipping the first doses of its COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, with the company’s top executive predicting that shots could begin going into the arms of Americans within the next two days.
“We think, literally, within the next 24 to 48 hours, Americans should start receiving shots in arms,” Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson CEO told NBC’s “TODAY.” “They’re literally rolling out with the trucks as we speak. Again, this is the culmination of more than a year of day and night efforts on the part of our physicians, our scientists, our engineers, to have a safe, effective, single-shot, common refrigeration vaccine available for patients here, but for people around the world.”
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The rollout began days after an FDA panel voted to endorse the one-dose jab, which was then granted emergency use authorization by the agency’s officials. It marks the third COVID-19 vaccine to receive EUA, following such status granted to Pfizer and BioNTech and then Moderna’s shots. However, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was created using an adenovirus, similar to how the flu vaccine is developed each year, whereas the other two jabs involve the use of mRNA technology.
FAUCI WARNS AGAINST COMPARING JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE TO OTHERS
On Friday, during a White House coronavirus briefing, Andy Slavitt said the U.S. would be ready to roll out 4 million doses following the FDA’s decision, which Gorsky confirmed while appearing on “TODAY” Monday.
“As I said, we’re shipping 4 million literally as we speak. We’re committed to doing a 100 million by June of this year, and up to a billion by the end of 2021,” he said. “Let’s remember, this started literally as a genetic code information that was passed on in email 12 months ago. Since then, we’ve been able to do extensive clinical trials involving up to 50,000 patients. Trial sites around the world. I really can’t think of another time in our history where we’ve been able to ramp up at this kind of pace. What’s also important to remember, when we say 100 million doses by June that means 100 million vaccinations, patients that have been treated.”
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Johnson & Johnson agreed to supply the U.S. with 100 million doses by June. The White House has said previously that the company faced production and manufacturing setbacks due to limited supply and materials. The Biden administration said it has worked with the company to ensure it remains on track to fulfill its commitment.