DURBAN - Millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are expected to be tossed due to possible contamination.
According to the New York Daily News, due to problems at a Baltimore factory that makes the J&J vaccine, federal regulators say that all the doses in question, approximately 60 million, should be discarded.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was not confident that the company that controls the factory, Emergent BioSolutions Inc, had followed protocol. There is no word on whether the company has been closed down due to safety concerns.
South Africa only recently continued with the roll-out of the J&J vaccine following a voluntary temporary halt after eight women in the US experienced adverse side effects – blood clotting issues – after receiving the jab.
ANA this week reported that an FDA report found that the manufacturing rooms and corridors at the Emergent BioSolutions production plant, where key vaccine ingredients are made, had not been cleaned and were unsanitary.
Reports state that the doses must be discarded due to possible contamination. African nations are most likely to be hit the hardest by the latest developments.
This week, the World Health Organization revealed that nine out of 10 African countries will miss the September target of vaccinating 10% of their people unless Africa receives 225 million more doses.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health in the country said they were inundated with calls about the FDA.
“We are all waiting with bated breath. The FDA has not issued their statement,” the spokesperson said.
* This is a developing story
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