Report: Merck to help make J&J's Covid-19 vaccine

March 2, 2021

Rivals will team up in order to accelerate supply

Merck & Co. will help manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s recently approved coronavirus vaccine to grow supply more quickly, President Joe Biden announced earlier today, several news outlets reported.

According to the Associated Press, the news comes as the White House looks to accelerate production of the single-dose vaccine. Officials have noted that J&J faced unexpected production issues with its vaccine, producing only 3.9 million doses ahead of it receiving emergency use authorization (EUA) over the weekend. The company says it expects to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also announced today that the federal government was increasing supply of vaccines to states next week to 15.2 million doses per week, up from 14.5 million previously. States will also receive 2.8 million doses of the J&J shot this week.