Johnson & Johnson Covid Vaccine Gets Extended Expiration Date by FDA

Federal health regulators extended the expiration dates for Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for a sixth time on Wednesday, giving health professionals another six weeks to utilise millions of doses of the vaccine. In a statement to Johnson & Johnson, the FDA stated that when properly stored and refrigerated, the injections remain safe and effective for at least six months.

It’s the FDA’s second extension of the vaccines’ shelf life since June, when the agency announced they may be used for up to 4 1/2 months. The FDA indicated the vaccinations could be stored for three months at typical refrigeration conditions when they were first approved in February. Without an extension, health officials in numerous states have recently warned that they may be forced to toss out thousands of vials of the one-shot vaccine.

The adjustment allows health care practitioners more time to use vaccines that have been languishing in pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics. Vaccination rates have begun to rise again after plateauing earlier this summer as the dangerous delta variety spreads across the country. Vaccine expiration dates are determined by drugmakers’ estimates of how long the shots will remain effective.

Johnson & Johnson previously stated that it will continue to do stability testing in order to extend the shelf life of the injections even more. As businesses have continued to test batches in the months since the shots were first handed out, the FDA has been examining expiration dates on all three U.S.-authorized vaccines. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which were approved in December, have a six-month shelf life.Because of its one-and-done composition and easy-to-ship refrigeration, Johnson & Johnson vaccine was greatly anticipated. However, competing pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, who began shipping vaccines months earlier, have already provided more than enough doses to vaccinate all eligible Americans.