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CVS Health will no longer offer the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in its pharmacies.
The national chain is withdrawing the single-dose vaccine from most of its locations, but will still offer the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, CNBC reported.
CVS MinuteClinics, small facilities in some locations, will still offer J&J shots, although they only represent ten percent of the company’s locations.
This is yet another setback for the New Jersey-based company, which has struggled since its vaccine was first approved in February.
CVS will no longer carry the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to its pharmacies after months of trouble for the single-dose vaccine. Pictured: A CVS pharmacy in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania
CVS Health did not provide a reason for CNBC’s shutdown.
However, the chain said it has been using all of its J&J vaccines and pharmacies – and not ordering more doses – for several weeks now.
However, CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said the company’s 1,000 MinuteClinic sites, which provide elective services, in 25 states and the District of Columbia, will still offer the vaccines.
Faith in the only single-injection vaccine available in the United States has faltered in recent months.
Just weeks after its approval, use of the vaccine was suspended by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after some recipients formed blood clots.
The hiatus was lifted after 11 days, but with a new blood clot warning added to the label.
Also in April, a Baltimore plant that made the vaccines had to be shut down and 75 million doses thrown away after some vials of the vaccine were contaminated with ingredients from the AstraZeneca vaccine, and an investigation found unsanitary conditions.
The Baltimore plant has since reopened.
Detroit mayor Mike Duggan even turned down the city’s initial award for the J&J vaccine in March, saying the Pfizer and Moderna versions were better.
“So Johnson & Johnson is a very good vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are the best. And I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure the people of the city of Detroit get the most out of it, ”Duggan said.
Last month, the FDA revised the vaccine label, adding a warning that the vaccine was linked to Guillain-Barré, a rare autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks their own nerves.
Earlier this week in San Francisco, the city began offering people who had previously received the J&J vaccine an “additional” injection of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine on demand.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has seen setbacks since it was first approved. In just a few weeks, his approval was suspended due to problems with blood clotting. Pictured: A vial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been used in the United States 13.5 million times, a figure that pales in comparison to the use of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines
“We remain committed to helping end this deadly pandemic as quickly as possible,” Johnson & Johnson wrote in a statement, according to CNBC.
“A single-injection vaccine that provides protection and prevents hospitalization and death is an important tool in the global fight against COVID-19.
“Evidence from our Phase 3 ENSEMBLE study demonstrates the efficacy of J & J’s single-injection COVID-19 vaccine, including against the widely distributed viral variants. Regardless of race and ethnicity, age, location and co-morbidities, these results remain consistent. ‘
In early July, the company released data showing that its vaccine was effective in combating the Indian ‘Delta’ variant even eight months after receiving it.
A New York University study found the opposite, however, with researchers finding that the vaccine did little to combat the Delta variant.
The vaccine has been administered 13.5 million times, according to official data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eclipsed by the vaccine Pfizer (194 million administered) and Moderna (139 million).
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