US plant stops Astrazeneca production

The corona vaccine supplier Astrazeneca has to accept another setback with the loss of manufacturing capacity in the USA. By order of the state, the contract manufacturer Emergent Biosolutions is no longer allowed to work for Astrazeneca in its Baltimore plant and is only allowed to produce the coronavirus vaccine for competitor Johnson & Johnson (J&J), as a high-ranking health insider said. The reason for the decision is a severe manufacturing failure at Emergent Biosolutions. The company had previously produced both vaccines in the plant and mixed their components in the process. This made vaccine unusable for 15 million doses. According to J&J, the error was noticed in time, so the spoiled vaccine was not bottled. The error was reported to the health authority FDA and more employees are now used to monitor production. The problem had no effect on the delivery of more than 20 million cans in the USA, which was promised by the end of March. Federal officials would attribute the error to human error, it said. According to the insider, J&J is now taking sole control of vaccine production at the plant. This is to rule out such mishaps. The "New York Times" first reported on this process. Astrazeneca has come under global criticism for possible serious side effects of its corona vaccine. The drug, which was jointly developed with Oxford University, is suspected of causing thrombosis. However, several states decided that, according to the data available so far, the advantages far outweigh the possible disadvantages. The substance has not yet been approved in the USA. The country currently relies on J&J, Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer. According to US disease expert Anthony Fauci, the country may no longer need the Astrazeneca substance.