Federal officials have allowed Emergent BioSolutions' plant in Baltimore to reopen after being closed for more than three months following a contamination issue that forced the plant to toss at least 60 million Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, The New York Times reported July 29.
After a two-day inspection at the plant this week, the FDA is allowing it to resume operations. The agency halted production at the plant in late March after workers accidentally contaminated a batch of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine with an ingredient used to make AstraZeneca's vaccine. AstraZeneca's shot was made at the same site before the federal government ordered the plant to stop making it and focus on Johnson & Johnson's.
"The American people should have high expectations of the partners its government chooses to help prepare them for disaster, and we have even higher expectations of ourselves," Robert Kramer, the chief executive of Emergent, stated in a July 29 news release, according to the Times. "We have fallen short of those lofty ambitions over the past few months, but resumption of manufacturing is a key milestone, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help bring this global pandemic to an end."
Due to the production delays at the plant, Johnson & Johnson is behind on its contractual agreements to deliver vaccines to both the United States and Europe, according to the Times.
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