Johnson & Johnson one-shot COVID vaccine shows promising results. What to know
Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson announced Friday its coronavirus vaccine candidate had an efficacy rate of 66% in clinical trials, a striking difference from existing vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna.
But the new vaccine candidate would require only one shot, as opposed to the two shots required with the Pfizer and Moderna options.
More than 43,000 people participated in Johnson & Johnson’s most recent clinical trial, which was “designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in protecting moderate to severe COVID-19.”
The protection the vaccine candidate provided was observed as early as 14 days, the company said. Four weeks after vaccination, the level of protection against the virus was 66%, including 72% among U.S. residents, Johnson & Johnson said. The vaccine was 85% effective in preventing severe forms of the disease, the company said.
The results were “generally consistent” across all age groups and races, the company said. There were no severe allergic reactions reported, according to Johnson & Johnson.
But results show a different story in South Africa, which has a highly contagious mutated version of the virus that has now been reported in the United States.
The vaccine efficacy rate was 57% in South Africa, according to Johnson & Johnson. Nearly all cases (95%) of COVID-19 in the South African trials were due to the new variant.
The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna also show significantly weaker responses against the South African variant. Tests have shown Moderna’s vaccine has a “sixfold reduction” in the antibodies’ effectiveness against the variant, and Pfizer also noted its own reductions, McClatchy News reported.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said their vaccine was “more than 90% effective” against the coronavirus, before mutations began to be reported. Moderna announced in December its coronavirus vaccine had a 94.5% efficacy rate. Both vaccines have been distributed across the United States since December.
Unlike the vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson’s does not require ultra-cold storage — just a standard refrigerator. It’s also less expensive and the company is capable of making billions, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday.
“The results really are very encouraging,” Fauci said during a White House briefing.
Johnson & Johnson will file for emergency use authorization in the U.S. early next month and “expects to have product available to ship immediately following authorization.”
The company began its vaccine efforts a year ago, said Alex Gorsky, chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson.
“Our goal all along has been to create a simple, effective solution for the largest number of people possible, and to have maximum impact to help end the pandemic,” he said.
Experts welcomed the news that Johnson & Johnson could bring a third effective vaccine to the market.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, called the results “fantastic.”
“This one shot vaccine was highly effective at preventing severe disease, even with new variants,” Gottlieb said on Twitter. “The milieu of disease now is more complex; even in U.S. - trials done today are running into more mutated cases. Make no mistake: this is an important and wonderful development.”
Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer for Johnson & Johnson, said the results “represent a promising moment.”
“The potential to significantly reduce the burden of severe disease, by providing an effective and well-tolerated vaccine with just one immunization, is a critical component of the global public health response.”
Around 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are expected in the U.S. by June, according to The Associated Press.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Johnson & Johnson one-shot COVID vaccine shows promising results. What to know."