Dr. Liam Sullivan may have more reasons than most to be enthusiastic about the approval of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
An infectious disease specialist at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Sullivan participated in clinical trials for the injection. He was informed in December that he was part of the group that received the actual vaccine instead of a placebo, and was given the option to continue the study or obtain a vaccine from Pfizer through Spectrum.
Sullivan chose to remain in the study.
“I am totally confident in the clinical trial that Johnson & Johnson conducted and in the protection of this vaccine,” said Sullivan.
Many share their enthusiasm. But the J&J vaccine is under scrutiny, especially after Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said last week that he rejected an offer of J&J vaccines for the city’s vaccines.
Detroit Mayor refuses 6,200 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines
In comments that Duggan backtracked, the mayor cited clinical trials that found a 95% effectiveness rate for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines compared to 67% for the J&J injection, adding: “I will do everything I can to make sure Detroit city residents get the best. “
Sullivan and other experts say this is an inaccurate characterization of clinical trials and goes beyond the distinct advantages of the J&J vaccine.
“The J&J vaccine is not inferior,” said Dr. Beth Wendt, director of clinical operational effectiveness at McLaren Macomb Hospital. “There are a lot of really good things about it.”
First, comparing the results of clinical trials for Pfizer, Moderna and J&J ignores some important differences between them, said Sullivan. One is that the J&J trial was conducted after the other two, when variants of the COVID-19 were emerging. And among the countries where J&J tested its vaccine are South Africa and Brazil, which have particularly problematic variants.
“So, unlike Moderna or Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson has data from real-world clinical trials in South Africa and Brazil against these variants,” said Sullivan.
Yet another factor is that it is difficult to make an exact comparison for any vaccine or medication based on clinical trials, said Sullivan. “To put them face to face, you would need identical patient populations with identical demographic data in identical circumstances. Everything needs to be the same because, otherwise, we have a lot of variables that you cannot control. “
One more thing to keep in mind, Sullivan and Wendt said, is that clinical tests showed that the J&J injection was comparable to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in preventing severe coronavirus cases that could lead to hospitalization or death. The lowest percentage for J&J was in relation to symptomatic disease, including the most common mild cases.
Meanwhile, the J&J vaccine has some real advantages over the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, doctors say.
“It is still very protective and much easier to administer,” said Dr. Paul Entler, vice president of Sparrow Health System in Lansing.
The biggest advantage: it requires only one injection instead of the two doses required for those receiving Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The single dose regimen has several important implications: it means that twice as many people can be fully vaccinated with the same number of doses; it makes it much easier to vaccinate hard-to-reach populations, such as homeless or closed people, and it is much easier for health professionals, who do not need to schedule follow-up appointments.
It also means that more people are fully immune much more quickly, a benefit for individual patients, as well as for communities seeking to obtain collective immunity as quickly as possible. A recipient of the J&J vaccine is considered fully immunized two weeks after that single injection, compared to the five or six week regimen with the other two vaccines.
In addition, the J&J vaccine has much easier storage and handling requirements than doses of Pfizer and Moderna, which must be frozen and used quickly after thawing. In comparison, the J&J vaccine can be stored for up to three months in an ordinary refrigerator, which makes it much more suitable for use in doctors’ offices, said Wendt.
It also has another advantage of the J&J injection: as it uses biotechnology different from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, it is easier to manufacture and transfer this production to other companies.
“Plants that produce other vaccines can produce (the J&J vaccine) more readily,” said Wendt. “This will allow more availability of this vaccine, which is a good thing.
“When they open the floodgates for vaccine eligibility to more age groups, we will need to have a compatible supply,” she said. “We are going to have to meet your demand. So it can help us finish vaccinating the majority of our population and get us back to normal life and help end this pandemic. “
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