Many Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine doses may be close to expiring

As demand for Covid-19 vaccines declines across the country, unused Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses are piling up on state shelves, leaving state officials increasingly concerned that the lack of a coordinated federal plan to redistribute them means hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of doses will go to waste.
The buildup of doses is largely a result of the Food and Drug Administration's order in early April pausing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of safety concerns. Enthusiasm for the one-dose shot was dampened after the 11-day pause, according to state officials.
State officials are aware that people in other countries are eager to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, medical director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Plescia described a growing fear among his members that Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses, which are coveted in the developing world, could go to waste if no national effort emerges.
"I think people feel ethically that you've got other countries with no vaccines and in dire shape," Plescia said.
Lead adviser Andy Slavitt said Tuesday at the White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing that "a very small fraction of doses that have been sent out to states" are at risk of expiring.
"It's not realistic to expect that not a single dose will go to waste," said Slavitt, who put some of the responsibility for getting the unused doses into arms on the states.
"Remember, those doses were ordered by states, delivered by states and should end up in people's arms, and we are working aggressively through this month of action and other steps to try to get those doses into arms," he said.