One-shot vaccine cleared for use in US
Johnson & Johnson’s simple storage Covid-19 jabs will be coming to NZ
The United States is getting a third vaccine to prevent Covid-19, as the Food and Drug Administration cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.
Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed up vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the US.
The FDA said J&J’s vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: Serious illness, hospitalisations and death.
One dose was 85 per cent protective against the most severe Covid19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents — protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where virus variants of most concern are spreading.
“This is really good news,” Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told AP. “The most important thing we can do right now is to get as many shots in as many arms as we can.”
Shipments of a few million doses to be divided among states could begin as early as today. By the end of March, J&J has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the US, and 100 million by the northern summer.
J&J also is seeking authorisation for emergency use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organisation. Worldwide, the company aims to produce about a billion doses globally by the end of the year. On Friday Bahrain became the first to clear its use. The vaccine is also one of the shots expected to arrive in New Zealand later in the year.
A US advisory committee will meet to recommend how to prioritise use of the single-dose vaccine. And one big challenge is what the public wants to know: Which kind of vaccine is better?
“In this environment, whatever you can get — get,” said Dr Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan.
Data is mixed on how well all the vaccines being used around the world work, prompting reports in some countries of people refusing one kind to wait for another.