US looking to jointly produce J&J's single-dose Covid vaccine in India

Johnson and Johnson is looking at manufacturers such as Serum Institute of India in a bid to ramp up vaccine production Daniel B Smith, the Charge D'Affaires of the US embassy, said on Tuesday.

Smith also said that the efficacy of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine manufactured at a production facility in Baltimore is not yet clear and the Food and Drug Administration has not yet certified that the doses are available for anyone's use or for export.

US chargé d’affaires Daniel Smith on Tuesday said the US stockpile of AstraZeneca vaccines – estimated to be 10 million doses – can’t be shared with other countries before the FDA certifies the vaccines as safe and effective amid issues with the plant that produced the vaccines, Hindustan Times reported.

A career diplomat who previously served as acting secretary of state, Smith was appointed acting head of the US mission in New Delhi last month to oversee the US’ efforts to assist India in tackling the second wave of coronavirus.

To a question on joint production of vaccines, Smith said the setting up of joint production takes time and that the US was looking at how it can invest in boosting production.

Smith said India’s role in the production of Covid vaccines is critical. “I think we are watching carefully the production levels at the SII and elsewhere. We’ve been in close touch with the SII to try to determine what raw materials we could provide, and assistance that we can provide to help boost production,” he said.

The US has been in touch with multiple vaccine manufacturers in the country.