Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus shot recently received emergency use approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday evening, making it the third COVID vaccine available for use in the United States.
Following the conclusion of early-phase clinical trials, the pharmaceutical giant submitted data regarding its results to the Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), which voted unanimously on Friday to recommend the use of this COVID-19 vaccine. Prior to this decision, the vaccine was endorsed by the FDA staff earlier in the week.
Produced by the company’s pharmaceutical arm Janssen, the shot proved to be 66% effective globally, with a 72% success rate within the United States. While such results pale in comparison to the 95% effectiveness rate exhibited by vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as well as Moderna, a direct comparison is difficult to perform due to the numerous COVID variants that have formed since before the time that the J&J vaccine underwent clinical trials.
Dr. Cody Meissner, a member of the vaccine advisory committee and pediatric infectious disease expert at Tufts Children’s Hospital, still exhibited much confidence in J&J’s vaccine, stating: “All the vaccines seemed to be equally effective at preventing very severe disease, intensive care need, and deaths.”
