A local Irish business has revealed a hilarious mixup that has seen them inundated with callers under the mistaken impression that they're selling a Covid-19 vaccine.
Carlow firm J&J Services says its phone lines have been blowing up all morning from people believing they're speaking to pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson – which has been making headlines this morning after announcing its coronavirus jab could hit the market soon.
For J&J – a family run business that says it deals in a "little bit of everything" – the naming similarities between it and Johnson & Johnson have had some unforeseen consequences.
On Twitter, the agri-specialists wrote: "We have been inundated with calls this morning from people looking to get the vaccine, unfortunately this is not us!"
Many have seen the funny side of a tweet that highlights the eagerness of people across the country to get their hands on a shot in the arm to protect them from the deadly pandemic.
The mixup comes after news emerged that Ireland could soon be able to offer four different vaccines – a scenario that would allow the country speed up the rollout of the Covid-19 jab.
Deirdre Clune, a Fine Gael MEP, says the European Union will make sure vaccines are available at an "abundant level" by the second quarter of 2021, as negotiators work with drug company Johnson & Johnson ahead of the release of its coronavirus shot.
Ireland currently has access to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines – but the Oxford/AstraZeneca and J&J jabs could get approval from the European Medicines Agency very soon.
This, according to Ms Clune, will mean many more doses of the miracle drug are available by the second quarter of 2021 – boosting hopes that we could have mass inoculation sooner than expected.
Johnson & Johnson is hoping to apply for EMA approval by February.
