White House officials told governors on a private call on Tuesday that the federal retail pharmacy program should receive 1.5 million doses of J&J next week, according to a source on the call. States are expected to receive about 2 million doses, according to three people who know the government’s distribution plans.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Tuesday that 4 million doses are available for delivery next week.
J&J is resisting suggestions that it will not hit its target. In a statement to POLITICO Monday, J&J spokesman Jake Sargent said the company “expects[s] to deliver 20 million single injection vaccines by the end of March ”. The company made the pledge last month in testimony to Congress after failing to meet its original goal of delivering 12 million shots by the end of February.
J&J did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest delivery news.
Logistical complications and regulatory delays may be complicating production, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. J&J is shipping vaccine components from Europe while waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to authorize two American partners, Emergent BioSolutions and Catalent, to assist in the production of the vaccines. “Millions” of doses may be available as soon as the authorization is approved, which is expected in the coming days.
The J&J single injection vaccine should accelerate the country’s return to normal. The Biden administration has instructed states to make all adults eligible by May 1 and predicted that the country will become closer to normal by July 4.