The suspension of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine could delay efforts to vaccinate most people in the European Union by over two months to December, according to a forecast by scientific information and analytics company Airfinity.

“If the EU can’t use the J&J vaccine indefinitely it could push the timeline for vaccinating 75 per cent of the population back into December,” London-based Airfinity said in a forecast update provided to Reuters.

Without J&J, the EU would reach 75pc coverage — viewed as a benchmark for achieving herd immunity — by December 8, Airfinity projected, representing slippage of more than two months from an earlier expected date of September 30.