J&J Vaccine Also Nearing U.S. Rollout

(Source: CNBC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an advisory body of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has made a recommendation decision on the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the use of the J&J vaccine in the United States closer to reality.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others on the 28th (local time), ACIP held a meeting that day and unanimously voted to recommend the J&J vaccine for those aged 18 and older.

This is a follow-up measure after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency use of the J&J vaccine the previous day, and the vaccine can be used after the CDC director signs the acceptance of the recommendation.

With this, the United States has secured the third vaccine available for on-site vaccination following the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which require two doses, the J&J vaccine is completed with a single dose and does not necessarily require frozen storage, making it possible for medical facilities in rural and remote areas without refrigeration facilities to use this vaccine.

The J&J vaccine will soon begin shipping, with 4 million doses distributed to hospitals and pharmacies during the week.

Additionally, 20 million doses are expected to be supplied in the U.S. by the end of March, and 100 million doses during the first half of the year.

In phase 3 clinical trials conducted by J&J on about 44,000 people in the United States and South Africa, the vaccine showed 72% efficacy in the U.S. and 64% in South Africa.

Although these figures are lower than Pfizer's (95%) and Moderna's (94.1%), it should be noted that the clinical trials of these two companies were conducted before the spread of variant viruses.

The J&J vaccine showed prevention efficacy against severe COVID-19 of 86% in the U.S. and 82% in South Africa, and no deaths from COVID-19 occurred among those vaccinated.