The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is joining Pfizer and Moderna on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of authorized emergency use vaccines. Here are some reasons we’re excited about this new development:
- One shot. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the J&J vaccine only requires one shot to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This will help speed up vaccination efforts and get more shots into American’s arms in a shorter time frame.
- Extremely effective against hospitalization and death. During clinical trials, the J&J vaccine prevented 100% of virus-related hospitalizations and deaths.
- It provides strong protection against severe COVID-19 infection. The J&J vaccine was shown to be 86% effective in preventing severe illness from COVID-19 in clinical trials. In addition to the United States, the J&J vaccine was tested in South Africa, Brazil, and other Latin American countries. It showed a similar level of protection against severe illness from variants circulating in these countries. The shot has shown 72% effectiveness at preventing COVID-19 overall.
- Easier storage logistics. The J&J vaccine does not need to be stored in freezing temperatures, which allows for it to be easily given in locations where refrigeration equipment isn’t available. This will help expand the COVID-19 vaccines’ reach.
- More vaccine equals more people vaccinated. The more vaccine we have available to us means that more people can be vaccinated sooner. This will help increase immunity in our community and across the country!
- Helps stop the formation of mutations. The likelihood of further mutations developing decreases when more of the population is vaccinated.
Experts explain that all three vaccines are great options and urge individuals to take whatever vaccine is available to them. Johnson & Johnson hopes to deliver 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million by the end of June. With this development, we are one step closer to achieving herd immunity. Therefore, it’s important to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as the vaccine is available to you.
