Two COVID-19 vaccines are already on the US market Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) may soon join the club with his vaccine. The health giant applied for U.S. emergency permits earlier this month. Hierin Motley Fool Live video recorded on February 1, 2021, ‘The Wrap’ hosts Jason Hall and Motley Fool contributor Keith Speights discuss the important things to know about J & J’s COVID vaccine.
Jason Hall: Keith, let’s go ahead and talk about the latest coronavirus vaccines. We have a number of questions here to ask, and let’s start here first, because I can tell you that it comes from me. This is the one I’m most interested in.
With Johnson & Johnson, the mega-pharmaceutical company recently announced the late-stage results for the study on its COVID vaccine last week. We saw that the efficiency was much lower. You come in the mid 90’s percent of Pfizer, Modern until the mid-60s, for J&J. Can you tell us what it all means? Can J&J still obtain an emergency use authorization?
Keith Speights: Yes. Well, in the first place absolutely. I totally expect Johnson & Johnson to get authorization for emergency information for their vaccine. The efficiency rate was definitely lower than that of Pfizer or Moderna. You guessed it, Pfizer and Moderna had effectiveness in the mid 90’s. Johnson & Johnson came out with an overall efficiency of 66 percent. It does not look good in comparison.
But there are few things to consider when injecting J&J. No. 1, it is a single dose vaccine. They get the efficiency after one shot, while Pfizer and Moderna get their efficiency after two shots. By the way, J&J is also evaluating a two-shot regime. The results will be available later this year.
The most important thing to remember is that the single dose. This is really important because you get the protection much faster and it’s great. It helps us achieve herd immunity, and I think it’s going to be a big factor in winning the EUA soon. The other thing to note with their vaccine is that, in terms of how many serious cases of COVID it has prevented, it has been 85 percent effective in my opinion.
Jason Hall: Right. This is huge.
Keith Speights: Yes, that’s excellent. I think we may have gotten a little spoiled.
Jason Hall: I can remember, Keith, that when we first started talking about this, the FDA’s expectation was anything that was 50 percent or more effective would be considered great. We’re going to approve it. We need to do something.
Keith Speights: Exactly. I think when Pfizer and Moderna came out with their 94 percent, 95 percent efficiency, everyone thought, ‘This is what we should expect.’ Look, our flu vaccines are only about 60 percent effective. For a vaccine that is more than 90 percent, it is outstanding.
Jason Hall: I think it’s really important when you think of those who run the greatest risk as a deadly disease. I also noticed that if I remember correctly, they provided a little more information that the efficiency rates in the US were higher.
Keith Speights: They were. This is the other thing to note with J & J’s results. These new variants that we talked about earlier were to a much greater extent in their clinical study. We do not even know how much the new disorder, if any, was part of the Pfizer, Modern studies. Their results were mainly reduced by their studies conducted in South Africa, where the effectiveness was only 57 percent.
Jason Hall: Right.
Keith Speights: But in the US, the efficiency was 72 percent, which is better than their overall efficiency. It’s a good vaccine. I think it’s going to be on the market soon. I think it’s going to help make a difference. I think it’s going to help us get to the herd immunity. Whether it’s November or next year, whatever it is, I think it’s going to be an important vaccine.
Jason Hall: Especially if you think it’s Johnson & Johnson, what their ability and scope to deliver a product on the market, it should just be something that people should pay attention to.
Keith Speights: Right. One thing most people may not realize about Johnson & Johnson is that they now have only one approved vaccine.
Jason Hall: Wow.
Keith Speights: They were not yet big in the vaccine market.
Jason Hall: This is not their thing.
Keith Speights: This is not their thing. They touch in it, but historically it was not their thing, but they are so big. They are the largest healthcare company on the planet, and they naturally have the financial resources and the technical expertise to focus on any area. I’m glad they get vaccinated. I think that’s a good thing.
Jason Hall: Their logistics are just simple. I think it’s really very valuable in this.