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1st batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines won’t be released in Canada over quality concerns

The vaccines were quarantined in April before they were distributed to provinces
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Airport ground crew offload a plane carrying just under 300,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine which is developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

More than 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine will not be released for use in Canada.

The vaccines were quarantined in April before they were distributed to provinces because Health Canada was informed the drug substance in them was manufactured at the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, Md., where there have been quality control issues.

J&J had to throw out more than 15 million doses of vaccine made at the plant in early April after it was discovered workers had mixed up the formula with one for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was also being made there.

Health Canada says the substance in the Canadian doses was manufactured at the same time as those contaminated ones and it can’t determine if they meet Canada’s standards.

As a result, it will not be releasing them for use in Canada.

The department says it is planning an on-site inspection of the Maryland facility this summer but, until that is completed, Canada will not accept any product or ingredients made there.

“Canadians can be assured that any vaccines will only be released for distribution once Health Canada is satisfied that they meet the Department’s high standards for quality, safety and efficacy,” the department said in a statement late Friday.

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