The FDA on Wednesday released new documents that link the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine to the prevention of Covid-19 transmissions. The new findings propose that this vaccine can reduce the risk of unknown transmissions by vaccine recipients. This could aid in the fight against the epidemic, say some experts.
J&J Vaccine Could Prevent Coronavirus Transmissions, Says The FDA
There was an earlier press release by the FDA reporting that the vaccine was effective in preventing the Covid-19 disease from becoming fatal. It was said to be capable of avoiding hospitalization, severe symptoms, and death. But the newly released data adds that the vaccine could reduce the cases of transmissions greatly.
Dr. Phyllis Tien, MD, told Medscape in an interview that a decrease in asymptomatic transmissions is very much welcome. It is also important on a public health level, he opined. It is extremely important in terms of herd immunity”, says Dr. Paul Goepfert, MD, Director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic and an infectious disease specialist. He says that once a majority of the population is immunized with this vaccine, it could prevent subsequent transmissions in just a single dose. This could have great benefits for the prevention of Covid-19, according to him.
The FDA has also warned the people not to get their hopes up as the data is very little and needs further verification. But vaccines other than Johnson and Johnson are also capable of this advantage, according to earlier research. Trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine also showed a significant reduction in transmissions. All the data points to the fact that a widespread vaccine drive could immunize whole communities other than individuals.
Meanwhile, the states and the governing bodies are waiting for the green light to use Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Most states and Governors are already drawing up strategies for the implementation of this vaccine, said the white house Covid-19 Coordinator Jeff Zients at a news briefing. “ If authorized, we are ready to roll out the vaccine without delay”, he added.
The Johson and Johnson vaccine, the third one for the Covid pandemic, was found to be 85% effective in preventing severe symptoms of the illness in early clinical trials. It is also 66% protective, overall. The vaccine is awaiting emergency use approval as a scheduled scientific committee meeting will take place on Friday. The administration is looking to roll it out at the earliest.
The Johnson and Johnson company is responsible for delivering 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million by late June, by the contract. When the Biden administration came to power, the manufacturer was significantly lagging in their production of the vaccine. A helping hand from the administration in terms of equipment and raw materials has been able to put things back on track, according to Mr. Zients. “While we await the decision, we want the American people to know we are doing the work. So if the emergency use permission is granted, we will waste no time getting the lifesaving vaccine into the arms of Americans”, he added.