President Biden said on Wednesday that the U.S. government is buying another 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to ensure “maximum flexibility” at the end of the pandemic.
Single doses are not expected to arrive until the United States accumulates sufficient vaccine supplies for all residents in May, but Biden said he wanted more injections to protect against unforeseen problems.
“I’m doing this because in this war effort we need maximum flexibility,” said Biden at an event at the White House to announce the purchase.
“There is always a chance that we will encounter unexpected challenges or we will find – there will be a new need for a vaccination or vaccination effort. A lot can happen. A lot can change. And we need to be prepared. “
Johnson & Johnson’s recently approved vaccine requires a single injection, unlike the two-dose vaccines previously approved by Pfizer and Moderna.
The Johnson & Johnson injection was found to be 66 percent effective overall in preventing moderate to severe illnesses, 28 days after vaccination, and 85 percent effective in preventing serious illnesses.
The United States has already ordered 300 million doses each from Pfizer and Moderna – enough for 300 million people, or almost all Americans – as well as 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Biden said the United States will ultimately help other countries with vaccine distribution if there are more doses of vaccine than are needed internally.
“This is not something that can be stopped by a fence – no matter how high you build a fence or wall. So we will definitely not be safe until the world is safe, ”said Biden.
“And then let’s start by making sure that Americans are served first. But we will try to help the rest of the world. “
Johnson & Johnson has struggled with its initial vaccine production rate after approval from the Food and Drug Administration last month – supplying the government with only 4 million doses of 20 million planned for this month. The company is partnering with Merck and Emergent BioSolutions to produce more doses and expects to complete the initial order for 100 million doses in June.
Biden was due to speak on Wednesday at an Emergent facility in Baltimore, Maryland, but his speech was quickly relocated after a Sunday report detailed Emergent’s role in aggressively lobbying the government to buy an anthrax vaccine that does little more than than cheap antibiotics to improve patient outcomes.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Strategic National Stockpile spent 40 percent of its funds in 2010-2018 on the anthrax vaccine, instead of masks, aprons and other supplies that were missing for COVID-19, resulting in nurses having to use garbage bags.
Nearly 19 percent of the US population received at least one dose of the vaccine and about 10 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
US states began vaccinating vulnerable adults in mid-December, after a long period of review of the vaccine by Pfizer and partner BioNTech by the FDA, which was about 95% effective in testing. The FDA quickly approved a second two-dose vaccine produced by Moderna with similar effectiveness.