Next Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine Shipment Not Coming To Maryland Until March 18, Gov. Hogan Says
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — In a short-term blow to Maryland's vaccination efforts, the state will not get any more doses of the new Baltimore-made Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the federal government until March 18th—although the state will get slightly more doses of Pfizer and Moderna.
"It takes a while to ramp up production. Because we were so desperately in need of vaccines, they simply pushed [them] out. They've been manufacturing these for many months waiting for the approval, and then they just shipped out every single one they had in the one week," Gov. Larry Hogan said during a news conference in Annapolis Tuesday. "And now they have to catch back up again, and the next shipment wouldn't come for another 18 days."
Maryland will receive the roughly 50,000 J&J doses it was promised for this week. Gov. Hogan said some of those doses were delivered in the state Tuesday.
More Updates From Gov. Hogan's News Conference:
- Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Sites To Open This Month In Hagerstown, Waldorf, Salisbury, Gov. Larry Hogan Says
- Gov. Hogan To Outline Equity Plans For COVID-19 Vaccinations In Maryland Thursday
- Former CDC Director Robert Redfield To Serve As Senior Public Health Adviser In Maryland's Fight Against COVID-19
- Merck Will Begin To Produce Johnson & Johnson One-Shot COVID-19 Vaccine, Officials Say
Officials have said J&J faced unexpected production issues with its vaccine and produced only 3.9 million doses ahead of its receiving emergency use authorization on Saturday.
The company said it is on pace to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June.
Gov. Hogan said he was pleased to hear from White House officials the news that Merck will be helping J&J manufacture the vaccines.
"For more than a month I've been pushing the White House to get other manufacturers to help with the production of some of the approved vaccines, and I was pleased to hear White House officials this morning on a call with the governors that Merck will now be helping to produce Johnson and Johnson vaccines," Gov. Hogan said.
Currently, the vaccine is being produced by the Baltimore-based laboratory Emergent BioSolutions.
Watch Gov. Hogan's Full News Conference Below:
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
