US FDA authorizes Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

The US Food and Drug Administration on February 27 authorised Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 18 and older. While taking to Twitter, White House’s senior for COVID response, Andy Slavitt, called the news welcoming and added that the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is the third “safe and effective” vaccine. It is worth noting that it is also the first single dose of coronavirus vaccine available in the United States, and is one that “checks nearly all the boxes”. 

The vaccine, made by Janssen, is safe and effective and it is considered flexible. It is a single dose vaccine and it doesn’t require special storage. According to CNN, Dr. Greg Poland, who is the head of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, said that the Janssen vaccine candidate checks nearly all boxes as it can be mass-produced and it also gives a reasonable duration of efficacy and protection. However, the vaccine comes with few side effects, most of which are mild, including pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. 

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72% effective in the US 

According to the FDA, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was tested in more than 44,000 people in the US, South Africa and Latin America. Globally, the vaccine was 66.1 per cent effective against moderate to severe/critical COVID-19 at least four weeks after vaccination. In the US, the vaccine, however, is considered to be 72 per cent effective and offered 86 per cent protection against severe forms of the disease. 

A vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who is also a part of the FDA advisory panel that will scrutinize the J&J data, Dr Paul Offit encouraged that one dose of the J&J vaccine appears as good at preventing serious illness as the other two-dose vaccines. He said, "This is a vaccine to prevent you from going to the hospital and dying at a level that’s certainly comparable” to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines". Dr Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief said, "I was reassured,” that despite different variants, the J&J shot was still protected against serious illness". He said, "That’s pretty robust data”.

The FDA panellists voted unanimously that the benefits of the vaccine 'outweighed the risks for adults'. Now, the shipment can begin by Monday, March 1. As per the analysis, the shot offers the nation a third vaccine option and also helps in speeding up the vaccination process.

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