“This vaccine is also another important tool in our toolbox to vaccinate as many people as possible,” Walensky said in a statement.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the first single-dose recording allowed in the US, and it is easier to store and transport than Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Therefore, it will be especially useful in rural communities and for populations that are difficult to reach.
The details: The shot was found to be 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe Covid-19 at least 28 days after vaccination, and 85 percent effective in preventing severe to critical Covid over the same period, according to the FDA.
The effectiveness rate of the J&J vaccine is lower than the Pfizer and Moderna shots, which are 95 percent and 94 percent, respectively. Public health officials warn that the rates do not offer apple-to-apple comparisons, and that the J&J trial could provide a better measure of how the company’s vaccine against new, more transmissible Covid strains spreading around the world , compare.
‘I think we should move away from these comparative and analytical numbers until you compare them. Just be very thankful that we have three very effective vaccines, ”Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading expert on infectious diseases, said on ABC’s This Week” on Sunday.
A senior administration official told reporters the Biden team had instructed countries to distribute all three of the vaccines evenly across all populations. The official said the federal government is closely monitoring the distribution of the state and whether the criteria for equity are being met.
What’s next: According to the Biden government, about 4 million J&J shots will be sent this week, including 2 million to states and another 2 million to pharmacies and community health centers.
According to the senior administration official, the vaccine will be delivered to states and other places as early as Tuesday morning. The J&J dose will be awarded based on the population of the state, like the other two vaccines.
The company told Capitol Hill lawmakers last week that they plan to supply 20 million vaccines by the end of March and 100 million by the end of June. The senior administration official said J&J had told the government that the weekly supply for the next few weeks after the initial distribution would be limited.
Federal health officials have suggested that by April or June, there will be enough Covid vaccines for the general population to gain access to the shots without waiting.
The CDC’s advisory panel will meet again on Monday to discuss clinical considerations for the Covid-19 vaccines, as well as a safety update regarding the shots. Members will also discuss the threat of emerging variants identified in more than 40 states.