15 million J&J COVID vaccines thrown away after ingredient mix-up
BALTIMORE - A dosage mix-up at a Baltimore production facility, which ruined about 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine, has prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to delay certification of the facility.
Employees at Emergent BioSolutions, a production facility in Baltimore, and a manufacturing partner to Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, reportedly mixed-up two vaccine dosages and shipments were put on hold.
Shipments of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine have been delayed pending an investigation by the FDA.
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US officials said the vaccine spoilage will not impact plans to provide enough vaccine to immunize every adult by May.
In a statement provided to Fox Business, Johnson & Johnson said it expects to deliver its vaccine at a rate of more than one billion doses by the end of 2021.
The company said quality control identified one batch of drug substance that did not meet quality standards at Emergent Biosolutions, and that batch was never advanced to the filling and finishing stages of its manufacturing process.