Cuomo Reassures that New York’s Vaccine Supply will not be Affected by Johnson & Johnson’s 15 million Ruined Shots

By Yehudit Garmaise

  After workers at a several weeks ago accidentally mixed up the ingredients for Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation and another COVID-19 vaccine, 15 million doses had to be thrown away, and the company temporarily stopped shipping out its one-shot vaccine.

  The error took place at a Baltimore factory of Emergent BioSolutions, which manufactures products for both Johnson & Johnson and Astra Zeneca.

  The workers’ error does not affect in any way the Johnson & Johnson doses that have already been delivered because those were produced in the Netherlands.

  The workers’ mix-up, which was a result of human error, has raised questions about quality control at Johnson & Johnson’s Baltimore plant, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now investigating.

      "We are closely monitoring concerning reports about a production issue at a Johnson & Johnson affiliated factory in Baltimore that may have impacted millions of doses,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “New Yorkers can rest assured that next week's allocation will not be impacted, and all appointments scheduled at state-run mass vaccination sites will be honored.” 

      Vaccine appointments are contingent on supply, said Dave A. Chokshi, MD, New York City’s health commissioner, said this morning at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press conference, and this month New York City expects a significant uptick in the supply allocated us from the federal government.

  “As that additional vaccine comes in, we will ramp up appointment availability,” Dr. Chokshi said. “I expect you will see a noticeable difference [in appointment availability] by the middle of the month, and then a marked difference by the end of the month.”

   Although Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine shipments could be delayed, federal officials still expect to the company to provide the 100 million doses for which it is contracted to send the federal government by the end of May, which is when President Biden has promised that the U.S. will have enough vaccines to inoculate every American.

  As promised, Johnson & Johnson provided 20 million vaccines by the end of March.

(Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)