According to reporting by CBS News, two senior administration officials say that the Biden administration is planning to buy 100 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson.
President Biden is scheduled to meet with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck Wednesday and will make the official announcement that he will instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase more doses.
In early March, Merck & Co announced that it will help produce its rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved coronavirus vaccine in an effort to expand supply more quickly.
Officials have said J&J faced unexpected production issues with its vaccine and produced only 3.9 million doses ahead of its receiving emergency use authorization on Saturday. The company says it is on pace to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June.
The assistance from Merck was expected to help J&J meet its production commitments and expand supply even further, but the administration did not immediately provide specifics.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
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