Johnson & Johnson to Reduce Vaccine Supply to Delaware Due to Manufacturing Issues
This article originally written by Digital Content Intern Yusra Asif. Asif, is a senior media communications major at the University of Delaware, working as the associate news editor at The Review and a broadcast news reporter at the Student Television Network at UD.
The one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine supply will fall sharply, from 14,300 this week to 1,700 next week, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The supply shortage is linked to a production facility’s malfunction — 15 million doses of the J&J vaccine had to be thrown out at a Baltimore facility late February. The New York Times reported, workers at the plant, which manufactures J&J and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, conflated ingredients, contaminating vaccines and delaying authorization of the plant’s production lines.
Jennifer Brestel, a Division of Public Health spokesperson, told Delaware Online that Delaware will likely have fewer mass vaccination events than the state had planned over “the next few weeks.” Brestel said Delaware’s allocation could continue declining in future weeks.
Invitations to the state’s mass vaccination events are typically sent by email days in advance.