J&J vaccine facing manufacturing issue: Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has been warned of manufacturing problems plaguing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The viral vector vaccine developed by J&J's subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, was authorized by Health Canada as safe and effective last week.

Canada pre-ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine, which is the first and only one in Canada's vaccine plan that requires only one dose.

We’re giving an update on the pandemic, our response, and our vaccine rollout. For the latest on that and more, tune in now: https://t.co/ZKjrPQh7vH

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 9, 2021

Vaccine deliveries are continuing to ramp up: 🇨🇦 will receive more than 3 million doses of vaccines over the next 3 wks for a total of 8 million doses before the end of March alone. https://t.co/nnQdTFXglr pic.twitter.com/nXnERE4No0

— Anita Anand (@AnitaOakville) March 9, 2021

But Trudeau says Canada still doesn't have a date for when it should receive the first deliveries.

He says several conversations with the company indicate they are facing some production delays.

The revelation follows reports in several European countries that they expect smaller deliveries of the J&J vaccine in April, and announcements by the company that deliveries to the United States this month will be smaller than hoped.