Western Morning News (Saturday)
Johnson & Johnson jab ‘66% effective on virus’
AVACCINE from Johnson & Johnson which could be delivered to the UK in the second half of this year is 66% effective against Covid-19, trial results show.
The single-shot vaccine, which has been developed by Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical arm Janssen, is 66% effective overall at preventing moderate to severe Covid-19 28 days after vaccination.
The firm said the jab was 85% effective in preventing severe disease “and demonstrated complete protection against Covid-19-related hospitalisation and death as of day 28”.
This means that one month after vaccination, no one who received the vaccine was admitted to hospital or died, regardless of which strain of coronavirus they were exposed to.
Overall, the jab worked across multiple variants of coronavirus, including the South African variant which has been worrying scientists.
The new vaccine was tested in a clinical trial involving 43,783 people, during which time 468 Covid-19 cases were recorded.
The level of protection against moderate to severe Covid-19 infection was found to be 72% in the United States arm of the trial, 66% in the Latin American arm and 57% in the South African arm, where a mutant strain of the virus has been dominating.
The overall efficacy from these trials combined was 66%.
The UK has ordered 30 million doses of the vaccine, with the option of 22 million more, with deliveries expected in the second half of this year if the jab is approved.
Johnson & Johnson plans to file for regulatory approval in the US next week, followed shortly by applying for approval in Europe and the UK.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: “This is yet more good news from Janssen on vaccines.
“If this jab is approved this could significantly bolster our vaccination programme, especially as a single-dose vaccine.
“Once the full data has been submitted to the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, they will consider the evidence to determine whether the vaccine meets robust standards of safety, effectiveness & quality.
“We’re rolling-out vaccines as quickly as possible across the UK, with more than 7.4 million people given their first dose so far.”
Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said: “The potential to significantly reduce the burden of severe disease, by providing an effective and well-tolerated vaccine with just one immunisation, is a critical component of the global public health response.
“A one-shot vaccine is considered by the World Health Organisation to be the best option in pandemic settings, enhancing access, distribution and compliance.
“Eighty-five per cent efficacy in preventing severe Covid-19 disease and prevention of Covid-19-related medical interventions will potentially protect hundreds of millions of people from serious and fatal outcomes of Covid-19.
“It also offers the hope of helping ease the huge burden placed on healthcare systems and communities.”
Asked about when the UK could expect to receive doses of the vaccine, Dr Stoffels said: “I’m not going to comment on that as the discussions are ongoing and manufacturing upscaling is ongoing.
“So we have clear discussions with the UK Government and at the right time we jointly will release when these vaccines will be available in the UK.”
Speaking at a Science Media Centre press briefing, he also said the vaccine would be manufactured at a number of plants around the world including in the US, Europe, India and Africa.
Janssen is continuing trials into two doses of its vaccine to see whether this produces an even higher efficacy.