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The Food and Drug Administration approved Saturday the new single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine against coronavirus, giving Americans a third key weapon in the fight against the pandemic.

The J&J vaccine (photo), which requires just one shot instead of two, was given emergency use authorization by the FDA, and millions of doses could be delivered as soon as this week.

“This is exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis,” President Biden said.

The J&J vaccine will allow tens of millions of Americans to get lifesaving protection against coronavirus much sooner than with the two-dose vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer and now being administered.

Health experts have anxiously awaited a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations as they race against the pandemic that has killed 500,000 Americans and counting.

“The authorization expands the availability of vaccines ... to help us end the fight against this pandemic,” said Acting FDA Director Dr. Janet Woodcock.

The J&J vaccine also can be safely stored without the ultracold refrigeration that the other two vaccines require, making it much easier to distribute to remote areas.

The FDA said J&J’s vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death.

The shot was found to be 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness in a massive study that spanned three continents. Its protection was found to be strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading.

“The more vaccines that have high efficacy that we can get into play, the better,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said ahead of the FDA’s ruling.

Shipments of a few million doses to be divided among states could begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the U.S., and 100 million by summer.