Johnson & Johnson released its clinical data on Friday, showing that its Covid-19 vaccine was 66 percent effective against the new virus and 85 percent effective against serious illnesses.
The company said it will now apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), making it the third company to do so during the pandemic.
This vaccine was produced in collaboration with the vaccines division of J&J based in Belgium, Janssen Pharmaceutical and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Instead of requiring two doses, like the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna, one injection is enough to get the immune response.
Pfizer, by comparison, proved to be 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, while Moderna was 94.1 percent effective. This efficacy was achieved after the second dose of each vaccine.
Although the Johnson & Johnson global clinical trial shows less efficacy against the new virus compared to the other two available in the United States, experts are still calling the results “game changers”.
What does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine effectiveness mean?
Data from clinical studies revealed that the vaccine was 66 percent effective against the virus in general. That effectiveness increased to 72 percent in the United States, but it was lower in South Africa, where a highly transmissible variant took over the country, with only 57 percent effectiveness.
People who analyze this data may come to the conclusion that they do not want the vaccine due to the lower overall effectiveness compared to other available options.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that a key indicator that people should pay attention to in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is its impact on Covid-19’s serious illness.
“The overall effectiveness for serious illnesses was 85 percent,” he said during a Covid press conference at the White House on Friday. “Basically, there were no hospitalizations or deaths in the vaccine group, while in the placebo group there was. We have a candidate vaccine with added value ”.
Dr. Fauci called the results “very encouraging”.
The immune response has also been shown to grow over time with vaccines, so that the effectiveness against Covid-19 after someone received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can increase over a few months.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, director epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota Infectious Disease Research and Policy Center, reiterated this point when speaking to CNN on Friday about the results of the new vaccine tests.
“If I were the general public now, my first reaction would be, I want the one that protects me the most. You know, I think we didn’t do a good job explaining to the public that the immune response that occurs with the vaccine sometimes takes months to mature, ”he told CNN.
The results of current Johnson & Johnson clinical trials “are really what happened in the two months after the last dose was administered,” he said.
The human phase of clinical trials for a vaccine typically lasts two years for scientists to determine the total effectiveness of the treatment. This process has been accelerated with the FDA providing emergency use authorization to vaccine companies due to the severity of the pandemic.
“In fact, if we had followed this for a few more months, it could have been an equal, if not superior, vaccine to what we are seeing with Moderna and Pfizer,” said Dr. Osterholm of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial.
The company also has a separate study currently looking at the effectiveness of two doses compared to its current injection of one dose. Depending on the results, it could be recommended later that people receive a second dose that would improve their response against the new virus.
What are the additional benefits of a Johnson & Johnson vaccine on the market?
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one injection compared to the two doses required from other vaccine companies. This means that more people could be vaccinated more quickly and with fewer doses.
“An effective single-dose vaccine that is easy to transport is huge,” tweeted statistic Natalie Dean,
The vaccine also requires refrigerated storage requirements, making it easier for countries to access and handle the vials.
It can be stored in a refrigerator for up to three months at 36 degrees F to 46 degrees F, the company said in its press release. Pfizer, by comparison, requires a special freezer for its vaccine and dry ice during transport.
Experts said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s cold storage would make it easier to send doses to developing countries compared to what Pfizer currently requires, given the ease of transfer and storage.
“In other words, we could get the vaccine to people,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist, told CNN, “instead of getting people to the vaccine.”
Vaccinating the United States was one thing. But the global pandemic was unlikely to end until the vast majority of the world achieved collective immunity, either naturally or through vaccines. This was due to the way the virus mutated into other highly transmissible variants, including a first discovery in the UK and another in South Africa.
“Large outbreaks anywhere can give rise to variants that can escape vaccines everywhere,” explained Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, in a tweet.
If variants continue to happen while many remain without access to a vaccine, a mutation can form and work against the jabs that are currently being developed. This would require scientists to update their vaccines and give everyone who has previously received a vaccine a new or “booster”.
“It is the nightmare scenario of an endless pandemic,” said Dr. Jha.
Another benefit of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine? The company has the manufacturing capacity to “create doses in the billions,” said Dr. Fauci. “This has important potential and real implications nationally and globally.”
Could someone get a second dose of a different vaccine?
The question remains unknown as research continues to develop the effectiveness of different vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently declared that it would allow people to receive a second dose of a different vaccine in extreme circumstances – as if they forgot which company gave them the first dose or if they could no longer access a second dose of the vaccine. original company. But this permission only applies to Pfizer and Moderna, which are mRNA vaccines.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, by comparison, was slightly different in its approach to developing an immune response to the new virus.
The company’s clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of a second dose, however, may mean that someone who received a dose initially may need to return to a second dose of the same vaccine. This would happen if clinical trials showed a stronger immune response to a two-dose method.
Many experts have reached a consensus, however, that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at its current point was a good option for people if the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was not available.
“We will learn a lot about these vaccines in the next three to six months,” said Dr. Osterholm to CNN. “We will have to continue to resolve this. Not resolving to look for security. Do not rate it as to whether you should get it or not. Take it. But we will be constantly reevaluating that. What is the best way to protect most people over time? And you may receive a booster dose routinely with one or more vaccines. So, I know it’s confusing now, but I think, take your first dose now. Protect as many people as possible. “
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, agreed that the public should want the vaccine if they were given emergency authorization.
“If it were me, if I wasn’t able to get the mRNA vaccine and could only choose the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, I would assume that the data looks good when we look at the FDA. I would take it in a second knowing that there is probably a second dose test out there, which will probably show that it is even more effective, ”he said.
The United States federal government purchased 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnsons vaccine. The company said it would deliver all of these doses to the United States by June if it received emergency use authorization.