Since more doses of Johnson & Johnson are available in Illinois, which is a third option for the coronavirus vaccine for residents, can you choose and should you do so?
According to medical experts, the three vaccines currently available in the US, which include the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, each offer some protection.
Pfizer and Modern COVID vaccines are already distributed in the US, both of which require two shots for full protection.
According to an analysis by US regulators, Johnson & Johnson’s single-vaccine vaccine also offers strong protection against severe COVID-19.
Here is an explanation:
How effective is each vaccine?
The FDA said that J & J’s vaccine provides strong protection against the most important aspects: serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. One dose was 85% protective against the most serious COVID-19 disease, in a massive study spanning three continents – protection that has remained strong even in countries like South Africa, where the varieties of most concern are spreading.
Published results of a mass vaccination campaign in Israel showed that Pfizer’s vaccine was 92% effective in preventing serious diseases after two shots and 62% after one. Its estimated effectiveness in preventing death was 72% two to three weeks after the first shot, a rate that may improve as immunity builds over time. Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccine offers a similar level of protection, 94.1%, and requires two shots, 28 days apart.
It is not known whether any of the three vaccines prevent the spread of the virus by people who are asymptomatic.
Although the general efficacy data suggest that the J&J candidate is not quite as potent as the two doses of Pfizer and Moderna options, all COVID-19 vaccines in the world have been tested differently, making comparisons nearly impossible, reported CNBC.
“If you do a comparison with flu vaccines, which we do annually, the effectiveness of flu can vary between 40% and 60% – and this is a good year,” said Monica Hendrickson, public health administrator of the department of health in Peoria County, said Wednesday. . ‘Again, something that has high public health was that we were hoping for something above 40%. Reaching 95%, even 65%, is a homerun. ‘
Hendrickson noted that the vaccines each have a high efficacy against death and serious diseases for coronavirus.
“So you are really looking at a distinction that from a clinical point of view, or from, you know, an epidemiological point of view is very small compared to what we really hope, which is decrease in death and decrease in serious diseases, where they all match the three vaccines, “Hendrickson said.” The most important thing, though, is that if you have one of these vaccines, you can get one of them. “
Hendrickson’s message reflects a message that dr. Marina Del Rios, a specialist in emergency medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago, made during the NBC 5 panel “Vaccinated State” last month.
” Part of my message to the community was that the vaccines on the market are equally effective and equally safe, ” Del Rios said. ‘The best vaccine you can get is the one you can get your hands on first and get vaccinated. sooner, sooner rather than later, we are protecting ourselves and also our community, which has been so terribly devastated by this virus. ”
Dr. Arnold Monto of the University of Michigan, who chaired an FDA advisory panel that unanimously agreed that the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine outweigh its risks, said the evidence showed no reason to vaccine to favor another.
“What do people I’m mostly interested in do to stop me from getting really sick?” Collins said. ‘Will it stop me from dying of this terrible disease? The good news is that everyone is saying yes to this. ”
How do they differ?
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines differ from traditional vaccines in the use of mRNA. Instead of introducing an attenuated or inactivated germ into your body, this vaccine injects mRNA, the genetic material that our cells read to make proteins, into your upper arm muscle. It teaches your body how to make the protein that causes antibody production, so if the actual virus enters your body later, your immune system will recognize it, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Johnson & Johnson and another vaccine from AstraZeneca also rely on instructions to create the venous protein that gives the coronavirus its characteristic shape and which it uses to enter a cell. But they use DNA in an adenovirus, a common virus.
J & J’s shot uses a cold virus like a Trojan horse to carry the pike genes into the body, where cells make harmful copies of the protein to replenish the immune system should the actual virus occur. This is the same technology that the company used to make an Ebola vaccine.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines also need to be kept frozen, while the J&J shot can keep in the fridge for three months, making it easier to handle. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is commonly used in Europe, Britain and Israel, is manufactured in the same way and also requires refrigeration, but takes two doses.
What are the side effects for each vaccine?
Like the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, the main side effects of the J&J shot are injection site pain and flu-like fever, fatigue and headaches. No participant in the study experienced the severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, which is a rare risk for some other COVID-19 shots, although a less severe reaction was experienced.
The FDA has said that so far no serious side effects have been linked to the vaccine, although it recommends further monitoring of blood clots. In the study, it was reported in approximately 15 vaccine recipients and 10 placebo recipients, which did not differ enough to determine whether the vaccine played any role.
Where can you find them in Illinois?
Doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been sent to Illinois and Chicago since approval.
A new mass vaccination site in suburban Des Plaines has become the first large-scale facility to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Illinois.
The Minister of Public Health in Chicago, dr. Allison Arwady, said on Tuesday that the city did receive doses following the approval of Johnson & Johnson, but that no shipments were sent this week, and that no next week is expected either.
“If you plan to, it can be tricky to know. We hope it will be next week, but not,” Arwady said. “Our Moderna vaccine has been flat, flat for six weeks, hasn’t it? We got 26,050 doses of Moderna vaccine every week to stretch the whole city – first doses. And then our Pfizer went a little bit like that. ‘
A new program for residents of Chicago also has paramedics bringing doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people’s homes.
Are there other options?
Additional AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines may also be approved in the US
“In addition to the three that have been approved or approved here in the United States, we keep an eye on AstraZeneca,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Department of Public Health, said in Chicago. “It’s actively applicable, isn ‘t it? It’s already used in Europe and in some other countries, and it was, you know, it did all its studies here … we’ll see. , but there has been some speculation that we may see the vaccine in April. ‘
Arwady noted that the vaccine AtraZeneca ‘did well’, but there were concerns that it might not be as effective against the variant that originated in South Africa.
“A little extra attention was given to looking at the vaccine in context, but it was also a very good vaccine overall,” Arwady said. “And I would not be surprised if we see that one go to the FDA in April.”
Novavax, which is the lesser known of the remaining vaccines, is another one she monitors, according to Arwady.
“Hundreds of companies have looked at vaccines, but I would say that Novavax is the other one in the US, and I’m keeping an eye out for further trials, but their initial data looked good,” she said. “Could it be some kind of power for another vaccine? I think maybe. ”