Covid-19: the Johnson & Johnson group signs an agreement to produce its vaccine in Germany

Good news in the face of ever longer distribution times in Europe.

Berlin welcomed on Monday the conclusion of an agreement between the American group Johnson & Johnson and the laboratory IDT Biologika to produce doses of vaccines in Germany, as the EU faces delivery delays due in particular to US legislation on exports.

This agreement, which will allow Johnson & Johnson to use "for three months" a German site of IDT Biologika for "bottling and packaging", will "increase the reliability of deliveries" of the vaccine in the EU, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.

Germany last week deplored long delays in the distribution of this recently approved vaccine in the EU.

A delay due to US law

Despite the marketing authorization, European countries have for the moment not been able to receive doses.

Berlin had questioned the production circuit: vaccines manufactured in Europe are sent to the United States for the bottling and packaging phase.

Once there, the finished product falls under US law, which restricts vaccine exports.

Carrying out this final process in a plant in Germany will "increase the possibility of delivering this vaccine anywhere in the world," Johnson & Johnson assured in a statement sent to AFP.

The European Union's green light for Johnson & Johnson's product is supposed to be a boost to the EU's vaccination program.

But the German Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, had warned Friday that the first doses would be delivered "at the earliest" from mid-April.

200 million doses ordered

The EU has signed a firm order for 200 million doses of the US vaccine, to which is added an option for an additional 200 million.

This serum is the first to require only one injection instead of two, in addition to being able to be stored at refrigerator temperatures.

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IDT Biologika becomes the “tenth producer” associated with Johnson and Johnson.

The German laboratory also joined forces in February with AstraZeneca to produce its vaccine in Europe.