J&J delay slows vaccine rollout across a world lagging in shots
The pause in the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine marks another setback for the world’s inoculation campaign, just as it was picking up speed in Europe and other regions where immunizations have lagged.
The drugmaker suspended shots in Europe after U.S. officials paused vaccinations to review the cases of six women who suffered a type of brain blood clot similar to one reported as a rare side effect of the Astrazeneca Plc vaccine. Australia had already said it wouldn’t buy the J&J vaccine.
In the European Union, which is struggling to quell a fresh wave of the pandemic, the suspension came as the bloc was finally accelerating vaccinations after trailing far behind the U.S. and U.K. Without J&J’S one-dose shot, it would take until December to inoculate three-quarters of the the EU population, according to Airfinity, a London-based research firm.
The stakes are higher for poorer countries reliant on Covax, a vaccine-access initiative backed by the World Health Organization. The group has an advance purchase agreement for as many as 500 million doses of the J&J shot. The African Union signed a deal last month for 400 million doses this year and next, with deliveries set to start in the third quarter.
“The U.S. doesn’t need J&J’S vaccine, but the rest of the world is in trouble,” said Sam Fazeli, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
The U.S. has enough doses from the Pfizer Inc.-biontech SE alliance and Moderna Inc. to cover its adult population by July, Fazeli wrote in a report. “The rest of the world has to weigh opening up its economies versus using vaccines with rare side effects.”
At a briefing Tuesday, FDA officials said the length of the pause will depend on what they learn, but they expect it to be a “matter of days.”
The European Medicines Agency said it isn’t clear whether there’s a causal link between the J&J vaccine and the clotting disorder. It began a review of the cases last week and will say more once it finishes the evaluation. About 6.8 million people in the U.S. have received the J&J shot.
The EMA is watching developments closely and is in contact with the FDA, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a Tweet.
After examining the rare cases of clotting in those who received the Astrazeneca shot, the EMA warned last week of a link but said that the vaccine’s benefits still outweigh its risks.
EU countries had expected deliveries of some 55 million J&J doses this quarter. Shortly before the U.S. news, Italy’s pandemic emergency czar General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo had hailed the imminent arrival of the first batch, due Tuesday afternoon at an airport south of Rome.
Italy and other EU countries will now hold onto their doses and use other vaccines until the FDA gives the green light on the J&J shot, according to people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.
The vaccine is under review in the U.K. but hasn’t been approved there yet.
On Tuesday, Australia said it wouldn’t purchase any more of that type of shot, ending talks with J&J over a procurement deal.
The J&J vaccine, like the one developed by Astra and the University of Oxford, uses an adenovirus to deliver the genetic material into the body to provoke a defense against COVID-19. The Oxford-astra vaccine uses a chimpanzee adenovirus to achieve the response, while J&J’S is derived from humans. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and one from China’s Cansino Biologics Inc. also rely on that approach.