Participants who received Johnson & Johnson’s one-vaccine in an early study developed coronavirus immunity for at least 71 days, but a production lag could mean fewer doses than promised, the New York Times reported Wednesday report.
Why it matters: If approved, J & J’s vaccine will be the first to protect against COVID with a single dose, streamlining the administration and distribution of vaccine.
The whole picture: The US government signed a $ 1 billion contract with J&J last August. The drug company has promised that by 12 February 12 million doses of the vaccine will be ready for use and by the end of June a total of 100 million doses.
- J&J has fallen behind by as much as two months and will probably only catch up at the end of April, reports the Times.
- This can lead to a shortage of doses as soon as spring comes; the federal government secured just enough in the first half of 2021 to vaccinate 200 million of the approximately 260 million adults.
Yes, but: J & J’s vaccine, which leads to the development of neutralizing antibodies, is long-lasting and does not need to be frozen like the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech recordings, according to Bloomberg.
- The J&J vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures for three months.
What they say: “The pandemic shows no signs of slowing down, and we are, like everyone, eager to help more instruments stop it,” J&J said in a statement to Axios.
- “We have started producing our vaccine candidate and are confident in our ability to meet our 2021 government commitments, and we expect to share more detail after some of these steps are taken.”
What to look for: Results of a late-stage trial of 45,000 volunteers will provide more information in the coming weeks, but the company expects a high efficiency rate at or above 70%, chief scientist Paul Stoffels told Bloomberg.
- J&J also began a separate study of its two-dose vaccination process in November and expects the summer to receive data.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with the statement of Johnson & Johnson.