What do we know about the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine

What do we know about the Johnson &

It is the third vaccine approved in the United States and the first to require a single administration. In Europe, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be authorized in March

(Photo: Muhammed Enes Yildirim / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) After some initial setbacks, the anti-Covid vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (via their Janssen) has just been cleared for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. After the green light in recent days for the recommendation to people aged 18 or over, in fact, this vaccine will be the third to be accepted in the United States, after the one developed by Pfizer and Moderna, but also the first to require a single administration. Although initial supplies are limited to just 4 million doses, the company estimates "to deliver over 20 million doses in the United States by March and 100 million single-dose vaccines by the first half of 2021," as stated in a recent note. ".

But how exactly does it work? Unlike that of Pfizer and Moderna, which are based on mRna, the anti-Covid vaccine just approved in the US uses, like that of AstraZeneca, a viral vector to activate the immune response. In a nutshell, the researchers used another virus (an adenovirus, Ad26), rendering it harmless, to carry the genetic material of the coronavirus necessary to encode a specific component of the virus into the host.

And here are the advantages: again unlike Pfizer and Moderna, which are more delicate and require two doses, Johnson & Johnson's anti-Covid vaccine is single-shot, meaning that it requires a single injection to activate the immune response, it is also easier to store than some of its competitors: it remains stable for about two years if stored at -20 degrees and for a maximum of 3 months at refrigerator temperatures, between 2 and 8 degrees.

The vaccine was also tested in the Phase 3 Ensemble study on nearly 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile and demonstrated, 28 days after administration, to have an overall effectiveness of about 66% in preventing moderate and severe forms of Covid-19 (in the US the effectiveness was 85% in preventing severe forms). Also with regard to side effects, the vaccine is not critical: the effects were mild and moderate, common to other vaccines, such as pain at the sting site, headache, nausea and muscle aches, and fatigue and lasted on average 1- 2 days.

After a rigorous scientific review process, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a third safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. It’s exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis. https://t.co/jVRjdRie9V

- President Biden (@POTUS) February 28, 2021



“Authorization of this vaccine expands vaccine availability , the best medical prevention method for Covid-19, helps us in the fight against this pandemic, ”said FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock. "With today's authorization, we're adding another vaccine to our medical toolbox to fight this virus," added Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. According to forecasts, the EMA, the European Medicines Agency, could also give its green light by the first half of March.


Politics - 2 hours ago

Lombardy, Piedmont and Marche are back in orange, Sardinia is the first white zone

adsJSCode ("nativeADV1", [[2 , 1]], "true", "1"); Work - 5 hours ago

What the Privacy Guarantor says about the obligation of vaccines for workers

adsJSCode ("nativeADV2", [[2,1]], "true", " 2"); Medicine - 5 hours ago

New vaccine trials are starting against coronavirus variants

Topics

Coronavirus Health Coronavirus vaccine Johnson & Johnson vaccine globalData.fldTopic = "Coronavirus, Health, Coronavirus vaccine, Johnson & Johnson vaccine "

You may also be interested in

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.