US to share 60 million doses AstraZeneca vaccines with world
The U.S. will get started sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca after the COVID-19 vaccine clear federal safety reviews, the White House told The Associated Press on Monday, with as many as 60 million doses likely to be accessible for export in the coming months.
The move greatly expands on the Biden administration’s action last month to talk about about 4 million doses of the vaccine with Mexico and Canada. The AstraZeneca vaccine is widely in use around the world however, not yet authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The move comes as the White House is increasingly assured about the supply of the three vaccines being administered in the U.S., particularly following a restart of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot over the weekend.
“Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the U.S. already has and that contain been authorized by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the U.S., we need not utilize the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next almost a year,” said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. “Which means U.S. is looking at options to talk about the AstraZeneca doses with other countries as they become available.”
More than 3 million people worldwide have died of COVID-19.
About 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have already been produced but have yet to pass review by the FDA to “meet its expectations for product quality,” Zients said. That process could be completed within the next several weeks. About 50 million more doses are in a variety of stages of production and may be accessible to ship in-may and June pending FDA sign-off.
The U.S. has yet to finalize where the AstraZeneca doses will go, Zients said. Neighbors Mexico and Canada have asked the Biden administration to share more doses, while dozens of other countries want to access supplies of the vaccine. The doses will be donated by the U.S. government, which includes contracted with the company for a complete of 300 million doses - although company has faced production issues.
AstraZeneca’s doses in the U.S. were produced at an Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore which has come under increased regulatory and public scrutiny after botching batches of the J&J vaccine. The U.S. pressed J&J to dominate the plant and, as part of the effort to ensure the quality of newly produced vaccines, directed the facility to stop making the AstraZeneca shot. AstraZeneca continues to be looking to identify a fresh U.S. production facility because of its future doses.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine was primarily expected to be the first ever to receive federal emergency authorization, and the U.S. government ordered enough for 150 million Americans before issues with the vaccine’s clinical trial held up clearance. The company’s 30,000-person U.S. trial didn’t complete enrollment until January, and it has still not filed for a crisis use authorization with the FDA.
