Biden Administration Poised To Buy Additional 100M Doses Of J&J's COVID-19 Vaccine: CNBC

President Joe Biden is set to announce a new contract with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) covering an added 100 million doses of their one-shot COVID-19 jab, to be delivered in the second half of the year, reports CNBC.

• The U.S. president will announce the plans Wednesday during a White House meeting with executives from JNJ and Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).
• J&J currently has a deal with the U.S. government to provide 100 million doses by the end of June.
• The federal government shipped out around 3.9 million doses of the JNJ shot last week and says it plans to distribute 16 million more by the end of this month.
• Based on an earlier report, JNJ was low on inventory, leading to a reduced initial supply of J&J’s vaccine if on emergency use authorization.
• Last week, the Biden administration said that Merck would help make J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine.
• Price Action: JNJ shares gained 1.1% at $159.51 in market trading hours on the last check Wednesday.