Biden Administration to Purchase Additional 100 Million Doses of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine

Strategic Insights -

The White House confirms that President Joe Biden will announce on Wednesday that the US Department of Health and Human Services will purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, a move aimed at boosting US vaccine stock later in the year. The new purchase will not accelerate the administration's timeline to have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, but it will help to build up the nation's vaccine supply. This development comes as the US continues to ramp up the administration of the three Covid-19 vaccines that have received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Biden administration will direct the US Department of Health and Human Services to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.
  • The administration and Johnson & Johnson will need to negotiate the availability of these doses, which is expected to be later this year as the company ramps up production.
  • The new purchase will help to build up US vaccine stock later in the year, but will not accelerate the timeline to have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May.
  • This new development comes as the US continues to ramp up the administration of the three Covid-19 vaccines that have received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.
  • The partnership between competitors Merck and Johnson & Johnson was instrumental in making this deal possible, with the White House utilizing the Defense Production Act to equip two Merck facilities to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
  • The White House has announced that the administration will have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, a two-month acceleration of the previous timeline.
  • Jeff Zients, the White House's coronavirus czar, played a key role in brokering the deal between Johnson & Johnson and Merck.

Statistics:

  • Over 527,700 Americans have died from Covid-19 as of Wednesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University.
  • More than 93,600,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the US as of Wednesday morning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • The seven-day average for Covid-19 vaccine shots administered is now 2.17 million shots per day, up from 890,000 shots per day on January 20 when President Biden took office.
  • The Biden administration has announced that the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccine supply will be increased to 15.8 million doses, up from 15.2 million doses announced last week.
  • 2.7 million first doses of Covid-19 vaccine are being shipped directly to pharmacies.

Sources:

  • CNN - "Biden to announce deal to purchase 100 million more doses of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine"
  • The New York Times - "Biden to Announce Deal to Purchase 100 Million More Doses of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine"
  • Johns Hopkins University - "COVID-19 Data Tracker"
  • US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - "COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution"
  • White House - Press briefing with Jen Psaki on Tuesday, March 16, 2021