Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has announced that it is all set to speed up the production of its COVID19 vaccine after federal agencies have suggested a halt on the usage of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) version of the vaccine. A suggestion on the halt of the Johnson & Johnson COVID19 vaccine use has come due to many health risks linked to shots that have surfaced recently. The CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla has said that the company is able to deliver 10 percent more doses by the end of May than what has been promised earlier, which has been 220 million. He has claimed that the company will be delivering 300 million doses of its COVID19 vaccine two weeks earlier in the US, which has been scheduled for delivery by the end of July, this year. Health experts have said that the additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be useful during a possible shortage of vaccine doses due to the halt on the J&J vaccine usage. However, it will depend on regulatory authorities what decision they take on the use of the Johnson & Johnson shot in the future. As per the report, Moderna Inc as well has come forward and emphasized the safety and efficacy of its COVID19 vaccine after the J&J shot has landed in trouble.
Central health agencies have suggested a halt on the use of the Johnson & Johnson single dose COVID19 vaccine until they take a decision on the safety of the vaccine. Health experts from the agencies have been probing further into the cases of many women and men in the age range of 18 to 48 years who have said that they have been dealing with a rare blood clot disorder two weeks after being vaccinated with the single-shot vaccine. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well has joined hands with the European Medicine Agency (EMA) to help and investigate these rare cases of blood clotting. As per the report, one of the women who has developed this rare side effect after being vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson shot has lost her life. Around 7 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have already been distributed in the US so far.
Health officials have said that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is going to conduct an urgent meeting to review these cases of rare blood clot disorder linked to the Johnson & Johnson shot. On the other hand, the officials from the Johnson & Johnson have said that the health and safety of people who chose to use their products are their topmost priority. The officials from the White House have claimed that even without the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, they will have enough doses of other vaccines to inoculate most adults in the US by the summer. The White House COVID19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients has said that there will be enough supplies of vaccines in the system from Pfizer and Moderna to vaccinate people in the US, who want to get the shots by May 31.
