During Vaccine Production, Raw Materials Mixed with Other Vaccines
10 Million Doses Distributed with Warning Labels
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen, which developed the COVID-19 vaccine donated 1.1 million doses to South Korea, has been embroiled in controversy day after day.
After millions of doses of the vaccine narrowly avoided disposal through shelf-life extensions, this time 60 million doses produced with issues during the manufacturing process will be discarded.
According to U.S. media, on the 11th (local time), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to discard Janssen vaccines produced at the Baltimore plant in Maryland where an accident occurred during vaccine manufacturing.
At this plant, in March, an accident occurred where different vaccine components were mixed, leading to the disposal of 15 million doses of Janssen vaccine. 100 million doses of Janssen vaccine and 70 million doses of AstraZeneca were put on hold for distribution and are under review, and among these, 60 million doses of Janssen vaccine are proceeding toward disposal.
The FDA plans to approve the use of 10 million doses of Janssen vaccine, with a warning that there may have been issues in the manufacturing process, for distribution within the U.S. or for vaccine aid abroad.
These vaccines are expected to be distributed with a second warning following the initial caution that "women under 50 may have an increased risk of thrombosis accompanied by thrombocytopenia."
The New York Times pointed out that the mass disposal of Janssen vaccines could deal a blow to U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to provide vaccines to foreign countries.
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