What you need to know about Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Canada added a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to its pandemic-fighting arsenal on Friday, approving Johnson & Johnson’s product a week after it was authorized in the United States.

That gives Canada four distinct vaccines — along with PfizerBioNTech, Moderna and OxfordAstraZeneca — and it adds flexibility to the country’s plan to immunize the majority of its residents by September. Health Canada includes a fifth vaccine, Covishield, which is a separate brand name for doses of the AstraZeneca product made at the Serum Institute of India.

Canada has already secured up to 38 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through previous negotiations with the company, however it’s not expected that any will flow to Canada until at least April.

Here’s what we know about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine: HOW EFFECTIVE IS IT? Johnson & Johnson announced promising results from its Phase 3 clinical trials at the end of January, suggesting its vaccine reduced severe COVID-19 disease by 85 per cent, and prevented 100 per cent of COVID-related hospitalization or death.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIS VACCINE?

The potential ease of distribution offered by a one-and-done shot, and its ability to be stored in a regular fridge are among its biggest strengths. Vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all require two doses.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine can be stored in a regular fridge for up to three months, the company says.

WERE THERE ANY

SIDE EFFECTS NOTED?

No specific safety concerns were identified in participants of the trials, regardless of age, race and comorbidities.