Johnson & Johnson projects $2.5 billion from vaccine sales globally

Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday said that it anticipates $2.5 billion in annual sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, even as the company faces questions about the vaccine’s effectiveness with the delta variant.

The forecasted sales are a small fraction of the sales expected from the other two authorized vaccines; Pfizer and Moderna have forecast $26 billion and $19.2 billion in annual sales of their vaccines, respectively.

The single-dose vaccine was expected to be a major tool for helping inoculate the world, especially in hard-to-reach areas, but it has struggled to gain a foothold. 

The company has been plagued by production problems at its only U.S. facility, and use of the vaccine was paused for nearly two weeks while health officials examined rare but serious cases of blood clots.

Global sales of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine in the quarter were only $164 million.

The company’s financial announcement comes a day after a new study showed the vaccine may be less effective in battling the delta and lambda coronavirus variants than other shots.

The delta variant is estimated to be responsible for 83 percent of all current infections in the U.S., the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The study, while not peer reviewed, contradicts a report from the company, which announced two weeks ago that their vaccine was effective against the delta variant.