LISBON, Portugal — The head of Portugal’s vaccine rollout program says the country is experiencing steep shortfalls in expected deliveries of the Janssen COVID-19 jab.
Rear Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo said in testimony to a parliamentary committee Friday that Janssen promised 800,000 doses in July but provided only 260,000.
In August, only 200,000 Janssen doses will be delivered instead of the expected 600,000.
He said the shortfall was “bad news” for Portugal’s inoculation drive. He did not give an explanation for the Janssen reduction.
Authorities are looking for other suppliers to make up for the shortfall.
Gouveia e Melo said around 65% of Portugal’s target population has had a first jab and about half are fully vaccinated. He said he expected 70% to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 12.
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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:
— Tokyo Olympics are arriving at last, after a yearlong delay
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— In Canada and Zimbabwe, paths to vaccination diverge
— You might still want to mask up in public even if you’re fully vaccinated
— GOP’s vaccine push comes with strong words, few actions
— New Zealand suspends travel bubble with Australia, where outbreak is growing
— Virus’s impact: More relaxing and thinking, less socializing
— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has passed the grim milestone of 1 million cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began last year.
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Pakistan reported another 11 deaths Friday and 1,425 new cases of infection, bringing the country’s tally to 1,000,034 people infected. The nation has confirmed 22,939 deaths.
Infections have been steadily increasing as the more contagious delta variant spreads, and authorities expect a new surge from public activities during the Eid al-Adha holiday this week.
About 30 nations exceed 1 million cases, and more than 190 million people have been infected worldwide, a number…