Massachusetts should still receive 100,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reported manufacturing issues, but the outlook in following weeks is still under review, Baker administration officials said Thursday.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders told reporters the shipment promised for next week is “not in jeopardy” despite J&J announcing late Wednesday that one batch “did not meet quality standards.”
News reports estimated that about 15 million doses were discarded.
“We know we’re getting this 100,000, but then J&J for us going forward in the next few weeks is under review right now,” Sudders said after touring a vaccination site at La Colaborativa in Chelsea with Gov. Charlie Baker and local officials. “We don’t know if that’s part of what’s been the manufacturing issue.”
The administration plans to push out the burst of Johnson & Johnson doses through existing channels such as regional collaboratives, community health centers, and its homebound and low-income senior housing programs, Sudders said.
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Baker called it a “shame” to lose so many doses given the country’s race to get more people inoculated amid growing presence of more infectious COVID-19 variants, though he said the disposal also reflects the strength of the review process.
(Copyright (c) 2024 State House News Service.