J&J profits surge thanks to COVID vaccine

New Brunswick drugmaker Johnson & Johnson reported $100 million in sales from its COVID-19 vaccine, with year-over-year sales in the first quarter soaring nearly 7%, according to an April 20 press release.

First-quarter income for J&J grew from nearly $5.8 billion in 2020 to $6.2 billion in 2021, or a growth of $2.17 per share to $2.32 per share, respectively. J&J reported soaring gains of 8.8% from its medical devices sale, according to the company.

The company reported $22.32 billion in revenue. Consumer health product sales dipped 2.9%, according to J&J as shoppers stocked up on medical supplies at the early onset of the pandemic.

Gorsky

Alex Gorsky, J&J’s chief executive officer, ascribed the first-quarter numbers to “above market growth of our pharmaceutical business and continued recovery in medical devices.”

Any use in the nation of J&J’s single-shot vaccine is on pause until at least April 23, when the Centers for Disease Control is scheduled to further discuss several rare instances of severe blood clots in patients who took the vaccine. Public health officials, experts, and J&J executives assure that the vaccine is safe and that the pause is a precautionary decision.

The blood clots affected six women out of the more than 7 million people in the nation who got the shot.

J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk told Yahoo Finance Live on April 20 that the pharmaceutical giant is still “on track” to “have the pause remedied” in the very near future.

The vaccines are a vital component of permanently rolling back restrictions on businesses, travel and public gatherings, which have been in place this past year to keep the spread of the virus at bay.

Despite the J&J situation, Gov. Phil Murphy maintained his confidence that the state can reach its goal of fully vaccinating 4.7 million New Jersey adults by the July 4 weekend. As of April 19, the state administered over 6 million shots into people’s arms, fully inoculating 2.5 million people in the state.

“I continue to believe that Memorial Day brings us to a dramatically different place,” Murphy said during an April 19 press conference.

For now, the state is reliant on a supply of between 400,000 and half a million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which both require two shots and storage in Arctic-level temperatures. J&J vaccines are only single-dose and require storage in refrigeration-level temperatures, making them a far more attractive option for hard-to-reach populations like the elderly and homeless.