US Stops Production Of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccines At A Baltimore-Based Vaccine Maker's Facility

In a major development, the United States (US)' Health and Human Services Department has stopped a Baltimore, Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer from producing doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccines, reports Livemint.

The development comes days after Emergent BioSolutions had ruined a whopping 15 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) as it accidentally mixed up ingredients from two different vaccines. The mix-up forced the regulator to step in and delay the approval of the output from the facility.

Department has also asked J&J to install a new team to oversee all aspects of the manufacturing of the said facility. Meanwhile, Swedish-British pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca has said that it would work with President Joseph Biden's administration in the US to find an alternative site.

It should be noted that AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The same is being manufactured in India by Pune based Serum Institute of India (SII) under the name 'Covishield'.