US to share up to 60m AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses with the world
The US will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once it clears federal safety reviews.
As many as 60 million doses are expected to be available for export in the coming months, the Associated Press reports.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is widely in use around the world but not yet authorised for use in the US by the Food and Drug Administration.
In March, the White House announced the US would share approximately 4 million doses of the vaccine with Mexico and Canada.
The Biden administration is increasingly confident about the supply of the three vaccines currently approved for use in the US, allowing for more leeway in sharing the stock with other countries.
Vaccines by Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are currently authorised for use in the US.
The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was briefly taken out of use over fears of a rare blood clotting disorder but was returned to use over the weekend.
“Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the US already has and that have been authorised by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorised for use in the US, we do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next several months,” said White House Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients.
“Therefore the US is looking at options to share the AstraZeneca doses with other countries as they become available.”
Approximately 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been produced in the US but have yet to pass review by the FDA to “meet its expectations for product quality,” Mr Zients said, adding that the regulator is seen as the “gold standard” for safety around the world.
There are 50 million more doses in various stages of production and could be available to ship in May and June pending FDA sign-off.
Mexico and Canada have asked the Biden administration to share more doses, but there is no word yet as to where the excess vaccines will be sent. Dozens of other countries are also in need of more doses.
The US government will donate the doses and has a contract with AstraZeneca for 300 million.
Delivery of the doses slowed as the Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore where US production is taking place has come under increased regulatory and public scrutiny after botching batches of the J&J vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson was pressed to take over the plant as part of the effort to ensure the quality of newly produced vaccines, and the US government directed the facility to stop making the AstraZeneca shot.
The company is still looking to identify a new US production facility for its future doses.
AstraZeneca was initially expected to be the first to receive federal emergency authorisation, hence the size of the order, however, issues with the vaccine’s clinical trial held up clearance.
Enrolment in the company’s 30,000-person US trial wasn’t completed until January, and it has still not filed for an emergency-use authorisation with the FDA.
According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 94.7 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, or 28.5 per cent of the population. More than 42 per cent have received at least one dose.
More than 120 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered, 100 million doses of Moderna, and 8 million doses of Johnson & Johnson.
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