Johnson & Johnson (USA) announced the test data of its new crown pneumonia vaccine, which is expected to become the third vaccine approved in the US after Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, with a single dose efficacy of 66% in global mass testing. This article will provide a brief overview of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Vaccine Efficacy
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has achieved 66% single-dose efficacy in global Phase III mass testing, and 85% efficacy to prevent hospitalization and death in newly crowned patients.
In global trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 72 percent effective against moderate and severe disease in the United States, 66 percent effective in Latin America and 57 percent effective in South Africa. Of these, 95% of patients tested in South Africa were infected with the recently discovered South African variant of the virus.
Principle of the vaccine
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine made from a common cold virus called adenovirus 26. Scientists have taken a small portion of the genetic code of the NCP virus and added it to the attenuated 26 adenovirus, which scientists have modified so that it can enter human cells without causing disease. The adenovirus brings the genetic code of the NCP virus into human cells and then induces an immune response.
So you don’t get the virus when you get the vaccine,” says infectious disease expert William Schaffner, “but only some harmless neocoronavirus protein on the surface. That’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing, and when your immune system encounters it, it responds and creates protection against the real Neoplastic pneumonia virus in the future.”
Differences from existing vaccines
Paul Offit, director of the Center for Vaccine Education at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, explained that the vaccines now approved for use with Pfizer and Moderna are delivered to people solely through lipid nanoparticles or fat droplets, while the viral genes delivered to people by Johnson & Johnson are already unable to replicate themselves.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only single-dose vaccine available, compared to existing vaccines that require two doses, and can be stored at the same refrigerated temperatures as the Moderna vaccine. Johnson & Johnson says the vaccine can remain stable for three months at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 to 7.8 degrees Celsius), so health care facilities do not need to purchase additional equipment to store the vaccine. For rural areas and developing countries with insufficient resources, Johnson & Johnson vaccines may be more popular.
Single-dose benefits
Although single-dose vaccines are less effective than two-dose vaccines based on current test results, they do have their benefits. Single-dose vaccines make the vaccination process simpler, which means more people can receive them. Schaffner argues that such vaccines could “really speed up” global vaccination, and Dan Barouch of Harvard Medical School says, “If it’s a single-dose vaccine, then a billion doses would mean a billion people would be vaccinated.”
Application for use
Johnson & Johnson will apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization in early February, at which Time the FDA and the CDC will further review the study data. Offit pointed out that the process for authorities to process Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine application should be similar to that of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, with Pfizer vaccine applications taking more than three weeks and Moderna vaccines taking more than two weeks.
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