Allocations of the vaccine against Johnson and Johnson’s coronavirus will drop by 80% next week, according to information released by the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.
Why it matters: J & J’s single-dose shot is considered the key to American efforts to vaccinate enough Americans to achieve herd immunity as quickly as possible. A spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that J&J was still aiming to reach its goal of delivering 100 million doses by June.
By the numbers: 4.9 million doses of J&J were awarded to states, territories and federal agencies this week. Next week, the number will drop to 700,000, according to the CDC.
- It is unclear what caused the sharp drop, but federal officials have warned, according to the WSJ, that supply will vary from week to week.
- The week of March 1 distributed 2.8 million doses, while the next two weeks’ supply dropped to about 400,000 to 500,000 doses per week.
The whole picture: Production challenges have plagued J&J from the outset, raising concerns that the company may not meet its 100 million US dose targets by the middle of the year and by 1 billion by the end of 2021.