J&J, African Union in deal for up to 400mn Covid-19 shots

File photo shows a nurse holding a Johnson & Johnson Janssen Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre established at the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel in, Illinois.

Johnson & Johnson will supply the African Union (AU) with up to 400mn doses of its Covid-19 vaccine beginning in the third quarter, the drugmaker said yesterday, as the continent grapples with vaccinating 60% of its people.The virus has killed almost 121,000 people across Africa and infected 4.18mn.J&J unit Janssen Pharmaceutica NV has entered into a deal with the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) to deliver 220mn doses of its single-dose shot.AVAT could order an additional 180mn doses through 2022.The deal follows months of negotiations with the AU, which announced a provisional agreement in January to buy 270mn doses of vaccines from J&J, AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. The status of the talks with the other two companies is not known.J&J’s vaccine came to the market much later than those of AstraZeneca and Pfizer but has recently gained widespread acceptance globally, especially in Africa.“J&J requires just a single dose, it makes it a very good programmatically to rollout,” said John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the price of the J&J’s dose is likely to be $10. In February, South Africa put use of AstraZeneca’s shot on hold after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant variant.Several countries in Europe have suspended using AstraZeneca’s vaccine as they investigate a small number of reports of rare blood clotting in people who got the vaccine. Global regulators have said the shot is safe and effective.Pfizer’s shot has more complex storage and transportation needs than other vaccines, making it more challenging to deploy in warmer climates or in poorer countries.AVAT said yesterday that many of the AU’s 55 member states had shown a strong preference for J&J.Africa is also grappling with a more-infectious variant identified in South Africa amid concerns about delays of deliveries of AstraZeneca shots via the Covax scheme which is aimed at supplying poorer countries.