“This vaccine is also another important tool in our toolbox to vaccinate as many people as equitably as possible, as quickly as possible,” Walensky said in a statement.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the first single-dose injection authorized in the United States and is easier to store and transport than the two-dose Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. For this reason, it will be especially useful in rural communities and for hard-to-reach populations.
The details: The injection was found to be 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe Covid-19 at least 28 days after vaccination, and 85 percent effective in preventing critical to severe Covid over the same period, according to the FDA.
The rate of effectiveness of the J&J vaccine is lower than the vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna, which were found in 95% and 94%, respectively. Public health officials caution that the rates do not offer perfect comparisons and that the J&J trial may offer a better measure of how the company’s vaccine compares to new, more communicable strains of Covid that are proliferating around the world.
“I think we need to move away from this comparison and analysis of numbers until we compare them face to face. Be very grateful that we have three really effective vaccines, ”said Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease specialist, on Sunday on ABC’s“ This Week ”program.
A senior government official told reporters that Biden’s team ordered states to distribute all three vaccines equally across all populations. The official said the federal government is closely monitoring state distribution and whether equity indicators are being met.
What is the next: The Biden administration says about 4 million J&J injections will be shipped this week, including 2 million to states and another 2 million to pharmacies and community health centers.
The vaccine will be delivered to states and other locations as early as Tuesday morning, according to the senior administration official. The dose of J&J will be allocated based on the population of the states, like the other two vaccines.
The company told lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week that it plans to supply 20 million vaccines by the end of March and 100 million by the end of June. The senior government official said J&J told the government that its weekly supply will be limited for the next few weeks after this week’s initial distribution.
Federal health officials have suggested that there will be enough Covid vaccines in April or June for the general population to have access to vaccines without waiting.
The CDC advisory panel will meet again on Monday to discuss clinical considerations for Covid-19 vaccines, as well as a safety update on injections. Members will also discuss the threat of emerging variants that have been identified in more than 40 states.