Johnson & Johnson in talks with Indian Govt for clinical trial of single-shot vaccine

American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson revealed on Friday that it was in talks with the Indian government to begin a clinical trial of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the country. As per an official reply of a Johnson & Johnson India spokesperson, the talks were on to expand the clinical study of its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate with the Indian government.

"We are in discussions with the Government of India with the objective of starting a bridging clinical study of our Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India, subject to local regulatory approvals," Johnson & Johnson India spokesperson said in an email reply

"At Johnson & Johnson, we remain fully focused on bringing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to people around the world, if authorised for use by local health authorities", the spokesperson added.

Notably, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country back in February. It can be stored at refrigerator temperatures. 

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection website, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine's efficacy rate stands at 66.3%. It is a single-shot vaccine and requires one dose as opposed to SII's Covisheild or Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. 

On April 3, the company began testing its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine on teenagers, starting with those between the ages of 16 and 17. The trial is expected to be extended to include adolescents aged 12 to 15 after analyzing the preliminary results from the older teenagers. The first adolescents are being enrolled in the United Kingdom and Spain, following which teens from the US, Canada, and the Netherlands will be introduced, followed by teens from Brazil and Argentina.

Notably, J&J's vaccine, as compared to other vaccines in the US  went into trial after the new variants of COVID-19 such as B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 variant strains that originated in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil, respectively had already cropped up across the world. So, the vaccine's efficacy rates cannot be directly compared to other vaccines.