About 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-shot COVID-19 vaccine have been lost after a mix-up at a Baltimore manufacturing plant.
The plant, run by Emergent BioSolutions, is tasked with manufacturing two COVID-19 vaccines, the New York Times reported. Workers at the plant conflated ingredients of the vaccines, ruining the doses, the report said.
Politico also reported senior officials told them that some senior Biden administration health officials knew two weeks ago that the Baltimore contractor's production problems could delay delivery of a significant number of future vaccine doses.
The mix-up does not affect Johnson & Johnson doses currently being delivered and used nationwide, since those were developed in the Netherlands, according to the Times.
Johnson & Johnson identified the spoiled batch of doses through its quality control process, the company said in a statement on its website. The site is "not yet authorized to manufacture drug substance for our COVID-19 vaccine," and added: "This batch was never advanced to the filling and finishing stages of our manufacturing process."
In its statement, Johnson & Johnson said it remained on track to deliver "an additional 24 million single-shot vaccine doses through April." The drugmaker didn’t say how many doses were lost.
Also in the news:
►The European Union says there’s still “no evidence” that would support restricting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in any population
►Most Americans 65 and older are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
►California Gov. Gavin Newsom will get vaccinated in Los Angeles on Thursday, according to his office.
►People Magazine reported Wednesday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she tested positive for the coronavirus and is urging people to guard themselves in the pandemic, such as wearing masks in public.
? Today's numbers: The U.S. has over 30.46 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 552,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 128.79 million cases and 2.81 million deaths. More than 195.58 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 150.2 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
? What we're reading: COVID-19 accounted for about 11% of all American deaths last year – right behind heart disease and cancer – and the vast majority of patients who died of the virus already had health problems before they were infected.
USA TODAY is tracking COVID-19 news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
In Florida, no wait for vaccine at some country clubs
When Florida threw open the door for seniors to get COVID-19 vaccines, hundreds camped out overnight in the January cold and thousands more waited in digital lines for their number to come up in county-run vaccine pools. Meanwhile, pop-up clinics offering exclusive vaccine access sprouted at country clubs and golf course communities. A pair of yacht clubs in Martin County and the Florida Keys even secured special vaccine access. Beyond political favoritism concerns, the pop-up clinics raise questions about how state and local officials made decisions about where to dole out the vaccine.
“It just smacks of favoritism,” said Ross Edlund, 69, who drove nearly two hours to Miami to get the shot while his neighbors at an upscale community received their own private vaccine pop-up clinic. Read more here.
Vaccinated parents likely can party without bringing virus home to kids
As the trials in children and teens progress, millions of parents in the USA who are getting vaccinated are unsure how to navigate a post-vaccine world where they're protected but their kids can get sick and spread the virus. A CDC study released Monday suggests it is unlikely parents would bring home the virus to their kids. Another national study is underway to determine whether the virus spreads among vaccinated college students.
"It seems likely that a vaccinated individual would be much less likely to transmit the virus to someone else," said Richard Malley, a physician in the division of infectious diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital. "A parent who is hanging out with others would not be very likely to come home and transmit the virus to their children."
– Adrianna Rodriguez
Pfizer vaccine, effective against South Africa variant, closer to full approval
Six months after getting a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as part of a 46,000-person clinical trial, volunteers remained more than 90% protected against symptomatic COVID-19 and even better protected against severe disease, a new company study found. The study also showed that the vaccine is effective against a virus variant called B.1.351, first identified in South Africa. The new data is likely sufficient for the vaccine to meet the criteria set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for full approval. The vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use.
– Karen Weintraub
FDA authorizes two rapid COVID-19 tests for home screening
Consumers will soon be able to buy rapid COVID-19 tests at chain pharmacies and grocers without a prescription after the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized two home tests.
The Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 self-test will include two tests per kit for serial screening, with the no-prescription test delivering results in 15 minutes that does not require a lab. The FDA also authorized the Quidel QuickVue COVID test that delivers results in 10 minutes and can be used without a prescription.
The FDA has authorized more than 300 COVID-19 tests and technologies in what's becoming an increasingly crowded field of medical labs and tech firms touting different technologies.
By greenlighting the Abbott and Quidel tests that can be purchased by consumers without a prescription, the federal agency is significantly expanding access to testing for Americans. The authorization comes two weeks after the agency announced a streamlined path for serial testing to screen people without symptoms.
- Ken Alltucker
Contributing: The Associated Press
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