As vaccination rates decline, the FDA is doing what it can to try to save as many doses as possible before they expire.
The FDA just sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday that said the doses left are still safe to use for at least six months when properly stored.
This gave the shots 6 more weeks of shelf life as officials attempt to get as many Americans vaccinated as possible.
A surge of infections recently is related to the Delta variant and is mainly infecting unvaccinated individuals.
While Johnson & Johnson’s shots are facing an upcoming expiration date, Moderna and Pfizer are as well.
As officials beg Americans to get vaccinated, some are going as far as offering $100 to individuals who get it in New Mexico and New York City.
While it was originally expected that the Johnson & Johnson shot would go over well with the public due to it being one shot and easily stored, many people became skeptical when rare side effects were announced.
Recently a warning came out about a rare neurological side effect, and a few months ago one about rare blood clots related to the vaccine.
A factory producing Johnson & Johnson shut down in April when their supply became contaminated and they were forced to throw millions of shots away.
Currently, 150 million Americans have opted for the two dose shots and 13 million for Johnson & Johnson.
49% of the total population in the United States is currently vaccinated.
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