--- title: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Error Affects 15 Million Doses description: A manufacturing error at a plant involved in COVID-19 vaccine production affected 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. canonical: https://time.com/5951709/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-error/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-03-31T22:54:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:56.963Z article:section: Health og:title: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Error Affects 15 Million Doses og:description: It isn’t expected to change President Joe Biden’s expectation to have enough vaccine for all U.S. adults in May og:url: https://time.com/5951709/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-error/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8f50458f05b69e9/698a1868db29876003266717/GettyImages-1230141584.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Eastern Colorado VA Receives Shipments Of Covid-19 Vaccines og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Error Affects 15 Million Doses twitter:description: It isn’t expected to change President Joe Biden’s expectation to have enough vaccine for all U.S. adults in May twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8f50458f05b69e9/698a1868db29876003266717/GettyImages-1230141584.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:02 video:published: 2021-03-12 section: politics topics: COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, vaccine eligibility, presidential address, Independence Day, national unity, pandemic loss, small gatherings genre: speech, news tones: somber, resolute, urgent, hopeful emotions: grief (medium), determination (high), hope (medium), solidarity (high) sentiment: neutral audience: general public, U.S. residents, news followers, public health followers people: Joe Biden content_suitability: death [00:00-00:30]; health controversy [00:00-02:02]; politics [01:32-02:02] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Johnson & Johnson COVID- 19 Vaccine Manufacturing Error Affects 15 Million Doses > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=e224f423-cd31-437a-80d5-3b6becdf0427&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Biden Mourns With Nation as He Directs States to Offer COVID-19 Vaccines to All by May 1 [Watch (HLS stream): President Biden Mourns With Nation as He Directs States to Offer COVID-19 Vaccines to All by May 1](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MvTTwO6R.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2021-03-12. One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronavirus, President Joe Biden used his first prime-time address to outline his plan Thursday night to make all adults vaccine-eligible by May 1._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Joe Biden addresses the nation about the coronavirus pandemic, describing the past year as one of silence, denial, loss and loneliness. He pledges to do everything in his power to beat the virus and asks every American to do their part, including getting vaccinated when eligible. He announces a directive to states, tribes and territories on adult vaccine eligibility and outlines how small groups might gather for Independence Day. He closes by calling for national unity, saying it is defined by what people do together rather than by politics or loud voices. ## Key points - The virus was initially met with silence and spread unchecked, followed by denials lasting days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, infections, stress and loneliness. (00:00) - Biden promises to do everything in his power and says he will not relent until the virus is beaten. (00:00) - Biden says he needs every American to do their part, stating that this is not hyperbole. (00:30) - Americans are asked to get vaccinated when it is their turn and when they can find an opportunity. (00:39) - Biden announces he will direct all states, tribes and territories to make people 18 and over eligible for vaccination. (00:46) - Biden says small groups may be able to get together for a cookout or barbecue to celebrate Independence Day, though this does not mean large events. (00:46) - Biden says beating the virus and getting back to normal depends on national unity. (01:26) - Biden defines unity not as how politicians vote in Washington or what the loudest voices say on cable or online, but as what people do together. (01:32) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:30] A year of loss and a pledge. Biden recalls the year since the virus hit, marked by denial, death and loneliness, and vows not to relent until it is beaten. - [00:30 to 00:46] Call for every American to act. Biden asks every American to do their part and get vaccinated when it is their turn. - [00:46 to 01:26] Vaccine eligibility and July Fourth. Biden announces a directive on adult eligibility and describes small gatherings for Independence Day. - [01:26 to 02:02] National unity as the path forward. Biden says beating the virus depends on unity, defined by what people do together. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Joe Biden: "I promise I will do everything in my power. I will not relent until we beat this virus." - [00:30] Joe Biden: "But I need you, the American people, I need you. I need every American to do their part." - [00:39] Joe Biden: "I need you to get vaccinated when it's your turn and when you can find an opportunity." - [01:26] Joe Biden: "Beating this virus and getting back to" - [01:32] Joe Biden: "normal depends on national unity and national unity isn't just how politics and politicians vote in" ## Questions this video answers - How does Biden describe the first year of the coronavirus pandemic? [00:00] - What does Biden ask Americans to do about vaccination? [00:39] - Which groups does Biden say he will direct regarding adult vaccine eligibility? [00:46] - What kind of Independence Day gatherings does Biden say may be possible? [00:46] - How does Biden define national unity? [01:32] ## Content suitability - death [00:00-00:30]: References the loss of life and deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. - health controversy [00:00-02:02]: Discusses COVID-19 vaccination and the pandemic response. - politics [01:32-02:02]: Presidential address that references politics and politicians in Washington. by [Josh Wingrove, Riley Griffin and Emma Court / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Josh Wingrove, Riley Griffin and Emma Court / Bloomberg Contributor Mar 31, 2021 10:54 PM UTC  Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center investigational pharmacy technician Sara Berech is reflected in the glass of a fume hood as she prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for a clinical trial on Dec. 15, 2020 in Aurora, Colo. Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center investigational pharmacy technician Sara Berech is reflected in the glass of a fume hood as she prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for a clinical trial on Dec. 15, 2020 in Aurora, Colo. Michael Ciaglo—Getty Images by [Josh Wingrove, Riley Griffin and Emma Court / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Josh Wingrove, Riley Griffin and Emma Court / Bloomberg Contributor Mar 31, 2021 10:54 PM UTC A manufacturing error at a plant involved in COVID-19 vaccine production affected 15 million doses worth of an ingredient for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, according to two sources familiar with the matter, but the company downplayed the situation and said it met its most recent vaccine delivery target. The issue, which occurred recently at a Baltimore Emergent BioSolutions Inc. facility, was first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday. It isn’t expected to change President Joe Biden’s expectation that the U.S. will have enough vaccine for all adults in May. In a statement, J&J said a batch of drug substance failed its quality test. “This quality control process identified one batch of drug substance that did not meet quality standards at Emergent Biosolutions, a site not yet authorized to manufacture drug substance for our COVID-19 vaccine. This batch was never advanced to the filling and finishing stages of our manufacturing process,” J&J said. The company said it addressed the issue with Emergent and reported it to the Food and Drug Administration. Johnson & Johnson said it beat its March delivery target, providing the U.S. government more than 20 million doses, and that it expects to deliver another 24 million by the end of April. Biden has set a goal for almost 100 million doses by the end of May. J&J said it still plans to deliver 100 million by the end of June, “aiming to deliver those doses by the end of May.” J&J is now expanding its presence in the Emergent facility, according to the statement. “Johnson & Johnson is providing additional experts in manufacturing, technical operations and quality to be on-site at Emergent to supervise, direct and support all manufacturing of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine,” it said. Representatives for Emergent declined to comment, deferring to J&J’s statement. Johnson & Johnson has committed to delivering 20 million doses by the end of March, and 100 million by the end of June, though Biden had said that he expected nearly all of those to arrive by the end of May. He relied on that in moving up his timeline on when the U.S. would have enough vaccine to cover all adults. The White House said last week that it expected a surge of 11 million doses this week from Johnson & Johnson. It’s not clear if those are among the affected doses. 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