Emergent Biosolutions To Resume Production Of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine
BALTIMORE (WJZ/CNN) -- The FDA announced that they will allow Emergent Biosolutions to resume production of the Johnson and Johnson covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.
According to an administration official, the Baltimore plant has not been fully authorized yet, and while production can resume, the FDA will still need to inspect the individual lots of vaccines before they go out for shipment and can be administered.
"We are proud to be resuming production of bulk Covid-19 vaccine batches following additional reviews and collaboration with FDA and our manufacturing partners," said Emergent chief executive officer, Robert Kramer. "We are in the unique business of producing life-saving medications for catastrophes that we hope never occur like anthrax attacks, opioid overdoses, and Covid-19."
In April, the Food and Drug Administration ordered the plant to pause production of the vaccine after 75 million doses were ruined due to ingredient mix-ups.
They spent a week going through the factory and reviewing security camera footage that showed employees carelessly handling vaccine materials. The inspectors reported unsanitary conditions, poorly trained employees and other problems.
"The American people should have high expectations of the partners its government chooses to help prepare them for disaster, and we have even higher expectations of ourselves," said Kramer. "We have fallen short of those lofty ambitions over the past few months but resumption of manufacturing is a key milestone and we are grateful for the opportunity to help bring this global pandemic to an end. We'd like to thank our government partners as well as Johnson & Johnson for their support."
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