Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a press conference at the White House in the White House’s James Brady Press Information Room on January 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.
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The White House chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday that he would get the newly approved Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and asked Americans to make the vaccine available when they are eligible.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the J&J vaccine on Saturday, giving the United States a third tool to fight the pandemic after the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. The company’s expectation is to deliver 20 million doses by the end of March.
“All three are really good and people should choose what is most available to them,” said Fauci on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.
“If you go to a place and have J&J, and this is what is available now, I would accept it,” said Fauci. “I personally would do the same thing. I think people need to be vaccinated as quickly and as quickly as possible.”
The J&J vaccine is different from the others because it is a single dose regimen and does not require patients to return for a second dose. It can be stored in refrigerator temperatures for months. The injection showed an overall effectiveness of 66%, 72% in the USA and 57% in South Africa, which saw the rapid spread of variant B.1.351.
Although the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed higher efficacy rates in tests with two doses compared to the J&J single dose vaccine, Fauci insisted that the J&J vaccine is not a weaker vaccine and said the test data did not. they must be compared with the three doses because they were tested at different times.
“Now you have three highly effective vaccines, for sure,” said Fauci. “There is no doubt about it.”
While the country is seeing a decline in new coronavirus cases and an improvement in the vaccination rate, Fauci has warned states not to prematurely loosen restrictions on the pandemic, a move that could lead to another increase in infections.
Cases have dropped from 300,000 a day to approximately 70,000, a baseline that is still very high, said Fauci.
“We don’t want to keep stopping people from doing what they want. But we are going to get down to a good level,” Fauci told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “We are going to vaccinate a lot, a lot more people. And then you can withdraw these types of public health measures.”
“But now, while we are falling and stagnating, it is not the time to declare victory because we have not yet won,” he said.