(Reuters) – The U.S. government’s removal of AstraZeneca PLC’s COVID-19 shot production from Emergent BioSolutions Inc’s Baltimore manufacturing facility does not suggest it has any concerns about the vaccine’s safety or effectiveness and will not impact its output of doses, a White House official said on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ordered Johnson & Johnson to take charge of production at Emergent and for Emergent to stop making AstraZeneca’s shots after the contract manufacturer made an error that ruined 15 million J&J COVID-19 vaccine doses.
“This is a decision that HHS made with Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca in complete collaboration,” White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters during a press conference.
(Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
