Johnson & Johnson JNJ -3.56%
reports that the single-dose Covid-19 vaccine protects against Covid-19 at a late-stage trial, while being generally safe and well-tolerated. This is what we know and do not know:
How effective is J & J’s vaccine?
It seems to be working well. The vaccine, according to the company, was 66% effective in a late-stage study with about 44,000 volunteers aged 18 and older. This suggests that the shot protects adults against moderate to severe Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. If you focus specifically on the prevention of serious diseases, the vaccine was even more effective and placed an 85% rate. By comparison, an annual flu shot is considered good if it is 60% effective.
How does this compare to the effectiveness of Pfizer and Modern surveys?
The Pfizer vaccine Inc.
and partner BioNTech SE were 95% effective in preventing people from getting late with Covid-19, while the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective. J & J’s shot does not work so well in the trial. However, it can be difficult to compare between trials. And the timing of the test could have played a role, as J&J took place while new coronavirus variants emerged. Vaccines do not seem to work so well against the variant identified, especially in South Africa. The vaccination of J&J was 57% effective in South Africa compared to 72% in the USA during the late stage of the trial. Several vaccines have performed above what according to health experts are needed to protect many people and provide the community with immunity needed to move on to a post-pandemic life.
When can the vaccine be available?
J&J says they expect to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early February to authorize the use of the vaccine. If the FDA takes the same time as reviewing and approving the first two Covid-19 vaccines – about three weeks – it could decide later in February or early March. J&J made doses while testing the shot so he could quickly be ready to ship supplies after getting permission from the regulators.
What are the side effects of J & J’s vaccine?
The most common symptoms after vaccination were fatigue, headache, muscle aches and pain at the injection site at an early stage. In the late-stage study, J&J said that a small percentage of subjects had a fever and that there were no serious allergic reactions.
What vaccine should I get?
The first one you can, say health authorities. It is possible that individuals due to the limited stock will not have much of their choice, and that the vaccination may offer only one of the shots. If you do have a choice, there are some important differences that can guide your decision. The vaccine of J&J, although less effective in studies, is given as a single dose, which may be a more convenient option than the two doses required for both the Pfizer and Modern vaccines, which last three or four weeks. given apart. Only the Pfizer vaccine is allowed for adolescents aged 16 and 17, while Moderna’s are cleaned for 18 and older. J & Js are also likely to be cleared for adults because only people 18 years and older were in the company’s large clinical trial.
How has the vaccination of J&J been tested?
As of September, J&J enrolled more than 44,000 adults in the U.S. and several other countries, including Brazil and South Africa, in a clinical study. Subjects received a single dose of the vaccine or a placebo. Researchers counted how many people subsequently contracted moderate to severe Covid-19, 14 days after vaccination, until a certain number of people became ill. Researchers then investigated whether there were fewer vaccinated people than non-vaccinated among the Covid-19 cases.
How does the J&J vaccine work?
The vaccine uses a harmless type of virus, called an adenovirus, which can cause colds. It is adapted to contain the DNA of the so-called ear protein found on the surface of the new coronavirus. Once injected, the adenovirus carries the DNA charge in human cells. Once in the cells, the DNA layer causes the production of the protein. This in turn triggers an immune response that can later defend against the real coronavirus if a person who is vaccinated is exposed to it.
How viral vector vaccines work
Companies such as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are working on vaccines that rely on a different mechanism to confer immunity than traditional vaccines.
Traditional vaccines
In classic vaccines, such as against measles and polio, the patient is vaccinated with attenuated or inactivated versions of the virus. This causes the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.
2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify it and help neutralize it.
Scientists have isolated the genes in the coronavirus that are responsible for producing these ear proteins. The genes are cut into attenuated, harmless versions of other viruses.
Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines rely on coronavirus’ outer vein proteins, which use antibodies to recognize the virus.
Attenuated virus with
peak protein gene
When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus ear proteins.
The stimulant proteins produced by the cells lead the immune system to a defense, just like with traditional vaccines.
Vaccine-generated antibody response
In classic vaccines, such as against measles and polio, the patient is vaccinated with attenuated or inactivated versions of the virus. This causes the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.
2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify it and help neutralize it.
Scientists have isolated the genes in the coronavirus that are responsible for producing these ear proteins. The genes are cut into attenuated, harmless versions of other viruses.
Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines rely on coronavirus’ outer vein proteins, which use antibodies to recognize the virus.
Attenuated virus with
peak protein gene
When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus ear proteins.
The stimulant proteins produced by the cells lead the immune system to a defense, just like with traditional vaccines.
Vaccine-generated antibody response
In classic vaccines, such as against measles and polio, the patient is vaccinated with attenuated or inactivated versions of the virus. This causes the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.
2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify it and help neutralize it.
Scientists have isolated the genes in the coronavirus that are responsible for producing these ear proteins. The genes are cut into attenuated, harmless versions of other viruses.
Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines rely on coronavirus’ outer vein proteins, which use antibodies to recognize the virus.
Attenuated virus with
peak protein gene
When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus ear proteins.
The peak proteins produced by the cells lead the immune system to a defense, just like with traditional vaccines.
Vaccine-generated antibody response
In classic vaccines, such as against measles and polio, the patient is vaccinated with attenuated or inactivated versions of the virus. This causes the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.
2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify it and help neutralize it.
Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines rely on coronavirus’ outer vein proteins, which use antibodies to recognize the virus.
Scientists have isolated the genes in the coronavirus that are responsible for producing them
ear proteins. The genes are cut into attenuated, harmless versions of other viruses.
Attenuated virus with
peak protein gene
When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus ear proteins.
The stimulant proteins produced by the cells lead the immune system to a defense, just like with traditional vaccines.
Vaccine-generated antibody response
What do we not know about J & J’s vaccine?
We do not know what its safety and effectiveness are in children, or among pregnant women, their fetuses or nursing babies. We also do not know how long the protection against the vaccine will last. The company is conducting a separate study to test whether the addition of a second dose improves its performance.
Does J & J’s vaccine protect against new coronavirus strains?
The vaccine was less effective in South Africa and Latin America than in the USA. This may be a sign that the vaccine is less protective against strains circulating in those regions, although J&J is still doing the analysis. Even at the lower level of efficacy in South Africa and Latin America, health experts say, J & J’s vaccine works well. The company said it was working on a version of the vaccine aimed at the South African variant.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the current Covid-19 vaccines should still be effective against new variants of the virus, and that the U.S. could approach a “degree of normality” by autumn as the largest part of the country is vaccinated by summer. . Photo: Al Drago / Zuma Press
Write to Peter Loftus by [email protected]
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