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Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that US regulators have extended the expiration date of millions of doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by an additional six weeks.
The company said an FDA review concluded that the shots remain safe and effective for up to 4½ months. The footage was originally only approved for 3 months.
The announcement comes after state officials warned that many unused doses in storage will expire before the end of the month.
Vaccines expiration dates are determined based on data that the manufacturer provides to regulators to demonstrate how long the vaccines will remain at the appropriate strength. The vaccine is approved for use in about six months. But the FDA is reviewing these expiration dates as companies have continued to test samples from the batches in the months since the shots were first released.
The extension will help maintain the vaccine supply even as the rate of new injections continues to decline. The country averaged about 800,000 new injections per day last week. That’s down from a high of about 2 million a day two months ago. Government officials have resorted to a growing number of incentives to encourage the picks — from paid vacation to $1 million in lottery prizes.
As vaccinations have slowed, it has become clear that the United States is unlikely to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of partially vaccinating 70% of American adults by July 4. Disease Control and Prevention: J&J’s vaccine has been highly anticipated due to its unique formulation and easy-to-ship refrigeration requirements. The syringe was expected to play a major role in vaccination campaigns in rural areas and low-income countries with limited healthcare infrastructure.
But rival drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna have already supplied more than enough doses to meet US demand, with more than 129 million Americans fully vaccinated using two doses of the two companies. By comparison, only 11 million Americans have been vaccinated with the J&J injection.
The United States is set to announce plans to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for global use over the next year, on top of the 80 million doses already pledged by the end of the month.
The use of the J&J vaccine in the United States has also been hit by contamination problems at the Baltimore plant that helps manufacture the shots. The facility was closed after a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) examination revealed multiple problems in April and none of the vaccines manufactured there were distributed. __ AP health writer Linda A. Johnson in this story __ The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Division of Science Education. AP is solely responsible for all content.
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