WASHINGTON: Johnson & Johnson says US health officials have extended the expiration date for millions of doses of its coronavirus vaccine by an extra six weeks. The drug maker says the FDA approved a longer shelf-life for the one-dose shots.
State officials recently warned that many unused doses would reach their original three-month expiration by the end of June. The extension comes as the rate of new US vaccinations continues to slip. The US averaged about 800,000 injections per day last week.
That's down from a high of nearly 2 million per day two months ago. President Joe Biden's goal is 70 per cent of American adults partially vaccinated by July 4. The CDC says about 64 per cent of Americans 18 and above have received at least one dose.