Johnson & Johnson ’s COVID-19 Vaccine Results Are Better Than They May Sound

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies announced on Jan. 29 that its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine is 66% effective in protecting against disease, but 85% effective against preventing severe disease—results that could make it especially valuable in the effort to vaccinate parts of the world with weak health care systems. By comparison, the vaccines already authorized in the U.S.—one from Moderna and one from Pfizer-BioNTech—each require two doses, spaced three to four weeks apart. Janssen’s vaccine can also be stored in normal refrigerators, unlike Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s, both of which need to be frozen. While the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are around 94%-95% effective in protecting against COVID-19, that’s after two doses of those shots, which are based on mRNA, a relatively new vaccine platform. Janssen’s vaccine relies on a more traditional approach: it uses a harmless human cold virus to deliver a SARS-CoV-2 gene to the human immune system, which then learns to protect the body against COVID-19. (SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.) “A one-shot vaccine is considered by the World Health Organization to be the best option in pandemic settings, enhancing access, distribution and compliance,” said J&J Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels in a statement. “85% efficacy in preventing severe COVID-19 disease and prevention of COVID-19-related medical int...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news