The first injections of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine can be administered as early as Tuesday, Biden government officials said on Sunday.
The pharmacist, who obtained authorization over the weekend for the emergency use of her vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is expected to administer 4 million injections this week.
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The authorities said that after that, however, they expect deliveries to be “irregular” by March.
By the end of March, Johnson & Johnson plans to deliver 20 million shots. The company has promised to distribute 100 million doses by summer.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, signed on Sunday the recommendation of an advisory committee to endorse the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
She said the shots were coming at a “potentially crucial moment”.
“The most recent data from the CDC suggests that recent declines in Covid-19 cases may be stalling and potentially stabilizing at still very high numbers,” said Walensky in a statement.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is for adults aged 18 and over. It is the only single dose injection for the virus.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require two injections, three to four weeks apart.
All three vaccines are “highly effective,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at NBC’s “Meet the Press”, and encouraged people to get any vaccine offered.
“If you go to a place and you have J&J and this is what is available now, I would accept it. I would personally do the same thing, ”said Fauci. “I think people need to be vaccinated as quickly and as quickly as possible.”
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