The American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson had to dispose of 15 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine meant for the United States as they were unusable due to an accident in the production process.
The production of the vaccine has now been delayed because the American regulator has to carry out extra checks on the production line at the US factory in Baltimore, reports The New York Times.
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson confirmed that a batch of vaccines was found not to comply with quality requirements, adding that it had not yet reached the filling and finishing stages when the error was discovered. Employees at the Baltimore plant reportedly accidentally mixed ingredients from two different vaccines.
Related News
- Johnson & Johnson starts vaccine deliveries in Europe on 19 April
- Revealed: EU vaccine target ‘impossible’ say ambassadors
- Europe’s 'unacceptably' slow vaccination roll-out prolonging pandemic, WHO says
The factory belongs to Emergent BioSolutions, the company that produces the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States.
As a result of the production error, the distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccines - which only require one jab - in the US has now been significantly delayed.
The Brussels Times