Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine.Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine has inched one step closer to its authorization for emergency use.
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration released areportconfirming that the vaccine is 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19.
The report will be used to brief the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which will meet Friday to evaluate the data and recommend if the vaccine should be authorized.
If the committee endorses the vaccine, which it is expected to, the FDA commissioner is able to authorize the one-dose shot within a few days.
Unlike the already rolled out Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the J&J vaccine only requires one shot instead of two.
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The J&J vaccine is also able to last three months in the refrigerator, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be kept frozen, according to theAssociated Press.
Though the overall effectiveness of the J&J vaccine isn’t as strong as Pfizer and Moderna’s numbers, 95% and 94%, respectively, infectious disease experts said it is impossible to draw direct comparisons as J&J is a single dose and trials were conducted when there were more variants and infections,CNBCreports.
On Tuesday, a J&J executive told Congress that 4 million doses of the vaccine will be available in the U.S. once the vaccine is granted an emergency use authorization, according toNPR.
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According to the Associated Press, about 44.5 million Americans have already received at least one shot of the Pfizer of Moderna vaccine and nearly 20 million have gotten their second dose.
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source: people.com
