ANNAPOLIS, Md. — After the first set of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine arriving in states across the country this week, the federal government says, unfortunately, states won’t be seeing more doses for a few weeks.
On Monday, Maryland announced they received an initial allocation of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine so far. Gov. Larry Hogan said 100% of doses will be deployed to providers this week.
However, officials said there will be no Johnson & Johnson vaccines shipping to the states in the next few weeks due to the federal government shipping out all doses they had immediately.
“I can assure you that whatever supply we are able to receive, we are ready to immediately deploy and get into the arms of Marylanders,” Hogan said during his weekly COVID news briefing Tuesday.
Officials said J&J has faced unexpected production issues with its vaccine and produced only 3.9 million doses ahead of receiving its emergency use authorization last week.
J&J said it is on track to deliver nearly 100 million doses by the end of June.
“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe, effective, and made right here in Maryland,” Hogan said. “Our plan is to get this vaccine into the community right away and right into arms so that we can continue increasing our vaccination rate.”
This is the third COVID-19 vaccine granted emergency use authorization by the FDA. State health officials will direct the J&J vaccine allocation widely to mass vaccination sites, hospitals, local health departments, and community health centers.
In addition, the J&J vaccine will be deployed to pharmacies that the federal government has selected to participate in its retail pharmacy partnership.
In preparing for the allocation of J&J vaccines, federal officials have advised states that “persons may receive any recommended COVID-19 vaccine and are encouraged to receive the earliest available COVID-19 vaccine.”
Additionally, officials said that a single-dose vaccine may be desirable for people who want to complete their immunization schedule quickly, do not want to return for a second dose, or have difficulty returning for a second dose.