According to the head of Infarmed, the new Janssen (Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company) single-dose drug is now entering the final stage of evaluation and, “if all goes well” with the evaluation of its safety and efficacy, it is expected to be approved next month, with the first deliveries of doses scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

At the end of January, Janssen’s medical director told Lusa that the commitment to make the vaccines available in the European Union in the second quarter of this year, when Portugal will receive the first 1.25 million doses, was maintained.

“The commitment with the European Union is the second quarter of 2021 and this commitment remains”, assured Manuel Salavessa at the time, adding that the first 1.25 million vaccines of the North American company against Covid-19 are part of a batch of 4.5 million that the country will receive throughout this year.

According to Rui Santos Ivo, information available at the moment indicates that Pfizer “has practically recovered the delay that occurred at the beginning” in the delivery of vaccines, which means that Portugal can count on around 1.3 million doses at the end of the first quarter, which is “practically the volume that was forecast”.

Regarding Moderna, the “information we have is that the 226,800 doses that were contracted will be delivered”, said the president of Infarmed, adding that “where we effectively observe a reduction is in the AstraZeneca vaccines”, as they were expected to be delivered around 2.7 million, but should not exceed 930,000 doses at this stage.