BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Johnson & Johnson is expected to miss its COVID-19 vaccine supply target to the European Union for the second quarter after millions of doses were banned for use in Europe over safety concerns, an EU Commission spokesman said.
The European drugs regulator last week said J&J doses sent to Europe from a factory in the United States would not be used as a precaution after a case of contamination.
EMA said in a statement to Reuters that 17 million doses had been forbidden from being used in the bloc.
“Following the non-release of these batches, the company is not expected to be in a position to deliver 55 million doses by the end of this quarter,” the EU commission spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
The EU has ordered a total of 200 million doses from J&J, of which 55 million were to be delivered by the end of June. The company has so far delivered around 12 million doses.
“Johnson & Johnson remains committed to supplying 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union, Norway and Iceland and will continue to update the European Commission and member states in a timely manner as we refine delivery timelines,” a spokeswoman for J&J said in a statement.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Catherine Evans and Alex Richardson)
