US Considers Joint Production Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine In India

The United States of America (USA) is considering joint production of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in India. The country will also assist Indian manufacturers like the Serum Institute of India (SII) in expediting production to meet global demand.

US charge d'affaires Daniel Smith on Tuesday, May 12, said the US stockpile of AstraZeneca vaccines- estimated to be 10 million doses- can't be shared with other countries before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certifies the vaccines as safe and effective amid issues with the plant that produced the vaccines, reported Hindustan Times.

Smith, a career diplomat was appointed as acting head of theUS mission in New Delhi last month to oversee the US' efforts to assist India in tackling the second wave of COVID-19.

The Biden administration is working on the Indian government's list of urgently needed raw materials and other supplies to produce vaccines, told a senior American diplomat during a virtual news briefing.

"I know (US International) Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is looking at how we can invest so that we can help produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine here in India," he added.

Following the first meet of the Quad leaders in March, the group declared that the DFC would assist India's Biological E in producing a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which will be rolled out by the end of 2022 under a new Indo-Pacific vaccine partnership. With funding from the US and Japan, the initiative aimed to build additional manufacturing capacity in India to produce doses produced in the US, including the Johnson & Johnson candidate.

Various news reports suggest that the J&J vaccine is recommended for people aged 18 years and older, reported News18.

In clinical trials, side effects were common within 7 days of getting vaccinated but were mostly mild to moderate. Side effects were more common in people 18-59 years old compared to people 60 years and older.

The J&J vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who had no evidence of prior infection 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.

The vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick. No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J vaccine had to be hospitalised.

Early evidence suggests that the J&J vaccine might provide protection against asymptomatic infection, which is when a person is infected by the virus that causes COVID-19 but does not get sick.

Also Read: TN: Govt Teachers To Contribute Day's Salary For CM Relief Fund