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J&J CEO "absolutely" confident in vaccine distribution goal of 100 million doses by June

01 March 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said Monday that he is "absolutely" confident that the company will be able to meet its distribution goals, which include 100 million doses by June and up to a billion by the end of 2021.

Driving the news: J&J is already in the process of shipping 3.9 million doses this week, just days after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the one-shot vaccine. Gorsky said he expects vaccines to be administered to Americans "literally within the next 24 to 48 hours."

Why it matters: The J&J vaccine was found by the FDA to be 66.9% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19, and 100% effective at preventing hospitalization.

  • Because it's a one-dose vaccine that does not require ultra-cold storage, having 100 million doses of the J&J shot will be crucial in meeting the Biden administration's goal of vaccinating 300 million Americans by the end of July.

What he's saying: Gorsky, appearing on NBC's "Today" one year after he first discussed J&J's vaccine candidate on the show, marveled at how quickly his company's scientists developed the vaccine, stating: " I really can't think of another time in our history where we've been able to ramp up at this kind of pace."

  • "This started as literally a genetic code information that was passed on an email about 12 months ago, and since then we've been able to do extensive clinical trials, involving up to 50,000 patients. Trial sites around the world."
  • He added, "When we say 100 million doses by June, that means 100 million vaccinations. Patients that will have been treated."

Go deeper: Vaccine supply expected to surge soon

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.