By Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The United States is receiving a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration approved on Saturday an injection from Johnson & Johnson that works with just one dose instead of two.
Health experts are eagerly waiting for a unique option to help speed up vaccinations, as they compete against a virus that has killed more than 510,000 people in the United States and is mutating in increasingly worrying ways.
The FDA said the J&J vaccine offers strong protection against what is most important: serious illness, hospitalization and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most serious COVID-19 disease, in a large study that spanned three continents – protection that has remained strong even in countries like South Africa, where the most worrying variants are spreading.
“The more highly effective vaccines we can deliver, the better,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ leading infectious disease specialist, before the FDA decision.
Shipments of a few million doses to be divided between the states can begin as early as Monday. By the end of March, J&J has announced that it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the United States and 100 million by the summer.
J&J is also seeking authorization for the emergency use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization. Worldwide, the company plans to produce around 1 billion doses globally by the end of the year. On Thursday, the island nation of Bahrain was the first to release its use.
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