Johnson & Johnson has published the results of its third phase COVID-19 vaccine trial and plans to apply for emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.
The results demonstrated 85% protection against severe coronavirus disease in adults of all ages and racial groups 28 days after vaccination. The overall effectiveness rate for preventing moderate to severe disease was 72 percent in the U.S. and 66 percent in all countries studied, the pharmaceutical giant said.
The benefits include that it only requires one dose, unlike Moderna and Pfizer two-dose inoculations – and that can be stored in a normal refrigerator.
“There’s no doubt that this vaccine will change the game,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, Johnson & Johnson’s world head of pharmaceutical research and development, told CBS News Dr. Tara Narula. “The real-world efficacy of this vaccine is likely to be very high.”
Phase 3 clinical trials included some 44,000 participants in the US, Latin America, and South Africa. A total of 468 people contracted COVID-19 in the study, which examined protection against both moderate and severe cases. No one who received the vaccine died of the disease.
“What we mean by severe COVID is feeling especially sick at home. That’s about 80% of severe cases. Or in some cases, being sick enough to go get medical attention,” Mammen explained.
The results also showed protection against multiple emerging virus variants, including the newly discovered strain in South Africa, which has also been detected in the US
Mammen said the figures were encouraging.
“We had 85% efficacy against severe COVID disease. And that’s significant because there’s one varying in South Africa this is particularly problematic. So that makes me rest easier, ”he said.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA to transport the code to make the coronavirus ear protein, which allows the virus to invade human cells. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses DNA and a modified and weakened version of a cold virus to gain access to human cells. It then triggers an immune response and teaches the body to fight the real coronavirus.
Asked why the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only needed one dose, Mammen explained that “they went through an experimental process and chose the best that was optimized to neutralize antibodies, bind antibodies, and T cells.”
“So we are able to get a much bigger immune response than a single typical prey,” he said.
Bali Pulendran, Stanford Medicine immunologist, believes single-dose vaccine can only help Biden administration plan to increase availability.
“I would much rather have to just come in to get my only chance than a month or three weeks later to get my second chance,” he said.
Pulendran said a single-dose prospective vaccine would have a “huge impact on public health.”
“From a clinician’s perspective, it’s much easier to administer a single-dose vaccine,” he said.
The U.S. government has pre-ordered about 100 million doses, but Johnson & Johnson only expects to have less than 10 million doses available by February.
CBS News asked Dr. Mammen on reports of delays in production. He said the company will fulfill the U.S. order in June and make a billion doses this year worldwide.
Johnson & Johnson data has yet to be reviewed by the FDA.