A board member of US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson Inc (J&J), Dr Mark McClellan, said on 21 January 2021 that the company plans to have "enough vaccines for 100 million Americans by spring," CNN reported on Friday.

Dr McClellan was quoted as telling CNBC: "I do know that J&J is making a very large supply, going all out with its production both here in the US and elsewhere around the world, with the goal of having perhaps enough vaccines for 100 million Americans by spring, by this April or so," adding, "So that's going to make a big difference in supply availability over the coming weeks and months, if the clinical trial does work out."

Dr McClellan also said that the vaccine's clinical trial is "going on at very large scale right now" to make sure it's safe and effective.

According to Dr Anthony Fauci, a US physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Johnson & Johnson is "right around the corner" from seeking emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine from the US FDA.

Dr Fauci told CNN : "Johnson & Johnson is right around the corner ... (which) means that they're probably a couple of weeks away from getting the data looked at, to have the FDA evaluate whether or not we're in a situation where we could move ahead and start thinking about getting it out into the public."

Dr Fauci also stated that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has some advantages, as it's a single shot and doesn't have as stringent of a cold chain requirement.

However, when asked if AstraZeneca is close to requesting an EUA for its vaccine as well, Dr Fauci said they're behind.