Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines to start going into arms

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines to start going into arms

 

The first shots of the third authorized Covid-19 vaccine could be administered as soon as today, after Johnson & Johnson got the final seal of approval for its vaccine over the weekend.   It is important to note that this is the first authorized Covid-19 vaccines that is a single dose, which US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said comes with some big benefits.   "As a one-dose vaccine, people do not have to return for a second dose to be protected. In addition, this vaccine does not need to be kept in a freezer and can be stored at refrigerated temperatures — so it is easy to transport and store, and allows for expanded availability in most community settings and mobile sites, as supply scales up," Walensky said.   There is some concern among public health leaders that some people will think the J&J vaccine is "second class," because its efficacy is lower than the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, but the experts say it is important that people remember these are totally different vaccines.   "The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested against the South Africa variant in South Africa, tested against the variant in Brazil. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines weren't. We are not comparing the same thing," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public Health.   "When you look at what we really care about, which is preventing hospitalizations and deaths, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes in at 100% once it's had a chance to work," Jha said.