Johnson & Johnson execs have assured investors and officials that the company is "comfortable" hitting its vaccine delivery targets. But with its U.S. rollout underway, the pharma giant has run into some supply problems in Europe, Reuters reports.
J&J’s shot isn’t yet authorized in Europe, but the company has been gearing up to supply a promised 55 million doses during the second quarter—and now it's hitting some snags, an official involved in supply talks told the news service. The shot is expected to win an EU authorization in the coming days, Reuters reports, and vaccinations in the bloc could start next month.
The company notified European officials last week that it was “under stress” to meet the goal because of shortfalls in the supply of production materials, the source told Reuters. J&J might still be able to meet its target, the official added Two documents—a German health ministry internal document and a schedule published by Italian officials—confirm that J&J committed to delivering 55 million doses in the second quarter, according to Reuters.
The news comes after execs assured analysts during the company’s first-quarter conference call that J&J was “comfortable” meeting all its delivery targets for the year. Still, CFO Joe Wolk acknowledged on the call there could be some “fluidity” to delivery timelines. J&J has pledged 200 million doses to Europe for 2021.
