FDA Authorizes Johnson & Johnson Covid Vaccine for Emergency Use; Distribution Should Start Within Days
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on Saturday, according to a report by CNN. This is now the third vaccine approved for emergency use authorization (EUA), after ones developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
The FDA’s authorization follows a day after an advisory panel unanimously recommended that the vaccine receive approval.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose and does not require extremely cold storage, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and therefore should be easier to administer.
Dr. Esther Choo told CNN’s Pamela Brown that the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was “really great news,” since this new vaccine “still has an outstanding safety profile and has the added benefit of tremendous convenience,” which will avoid some of the “huge logistical challenges” of the two-dose vaccines that require special storage and handling.
Johnson & Johnson reportedly has several million doses ready to ship and begin administering as early as next week, and Choo said that the expectations were that the pharmaceutical company would be able to quickly ramp up production to provide about 40 million doses by the end of March.
Choo also addressed the lower effectiveness rate of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in clinical studies, noting that it had been subjected to more stressful factors (and a likely more virulent strain of coronavirus) than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Nonetheless, Choo declared Johnson & Johnson’s product to be “an outstanding vaccine,” highlighting how it had shown 100 percent effectiveness in preventing death and hospitalization.
Watch the video above, via CNN.
Update 7:10 pm ET: President Joe Biden released a statement Saturday evening praising the “rigorous, open, and objective scientific process” used to review and approve the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, calling it “exciting news for all Americans.”
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” continued Biden, “but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable. We must continue to remain vigilant, act fast and aggressively, and look out for one another — that is how we are going to reach that light together.”
INBOX: @POTUS statement on approval of Johnson & Johnson vaccine pic.twitter.com/d7VwHyr9Qk
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) February 27, 2021
The full text of Biden’s statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2021Statement by President Joe Biden on Emergency Use Authorization of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine
Today, after a rigorous, open, and objective scientific review process, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for a third safe and effective vaccine to help us defeat the COVID-19 pandemic — the Janssen COVID-19 (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine. This is exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis.
We know that the more people get vaccinated, the faster we will overcome the virus, get back to our friends and loved ones, and get our economy back on track. Thanks to the brilliance of our scientists, the resilience of our people, and the eagerness of Americans in every community to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting vaccinated, we are moving in the right direction. I look forward to speaking more about today’s news and updating the American people on our progress this coming week.
But I want to be clear: this fight is far from over. Though we celebrate today’s news, I urge all Americans — keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, and keep wearing masks. As I have said many times, things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread, and the current improvement could reverse. My Administration will not make the mistake of taking this threat lightly, or just assuming the best: that’s why we need the American Rescue Plan to keep this fight going in the months ahead.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable. We must continue to remain vigilant, act fast and aggressively, and look out for one another — that is how we are going to reach that light together.
