- Candidate for the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine can prevent complications and death from COVID-19, as demonstrated by the findings of the phase 3 trial.
- Drugs require a single intake and can be stored at the normal temperature of the refrigerator. But the J&J COVID-19 vaccine is not as effective as Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna mRNA drugs, which could be considered a disadvantage.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview that these comparisons do more harm than good, and explained that this particular vaccine is so important.
Johnson & Johnson announced Friday the results of its phase 3 trial of the coronavirus vaccine, revealing to the world that the drug can prevent severe COVID-19 leading to hospitalization and death. The vaccine is safe to use and had no serious side effects during the massive phase 3 trial. The company also said the drug will work against the South African mutation B.1.351, the only new coronavirus strain to be used. ‘has been shown to elude some drugs that are already in use.
The J&J vaccine has some advantages that make it a unique proposition compared to competitors. He uses a one-shot regimen, with this vaccine candidate being the only one who does not require a booster shot three or four weeks after the first punch. Unlike Pfizer / BioNTech and Modern mRNA vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be set at normal cooling temperatures, which means the logistics of transporting and storing the vaccine will not be as complex.
The Johnson & Johnson candidate does not offer an efficacy that may match Modern and BioNTech drugs. But that shouldn’t be an absolute problem at all, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview where he explained why the new vaccine is so important for controlling COVID-19 in the U.S. and other countries.
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Said Fauci CNN Friday that the J&J candidate and others will reduce stress on the U.S. health care system. “If we can alleviate this, this is really important, not only with this candidate, but with others who have already obtained the‘ Emergency Use Authorization (US), ’” he said.
Dr. Fauci noted the obvious benefits of the drug. “A vaccine that is cheap, that is a single dose, and that doesn’t require any cold chain, is pretty good,” Fauci said as he headed to the “elephant” in the room.
The effectiveness of the drug (66% worldwide and 85% efficacy against serious diseases) decreases compared to the 95% efficacy achieved by Pfizer and Moderna drugs. Fauci noted that J&J’s results would be even better without the obvious comparison.
“Do you know what the problem is? If that were the case and we didn’t have the Modern 94-95% … We would have said wow, a 72% effective vaccine that is even more effective against serious diseases is really fantastic, ”said Fauci. “But now we always judge between 94 and 95%. That said, this is a vaccine that could be used, especially in developing countries, to keep people out of the hospital. It has a very good effectiveness against serious diseases “.
The drug was 72% in the group of volunteers from the US Phase 3 trials.
In the months leading up to the U.S. receiving Pfizer and Moderna drugs, Fauci and other health experts said they expected the vaccine to be 75% effective, saying the higher the better. The FDA threshold for emergency approval was set at 50%. The effectiveness of the flu vaccine fluctuates due to the highly mutagenic nature of the various influenza viruses, with the 2019 pharmacological version being only 45% effective. The flu, however, has other effective therapies that reduce the risk of death, not just a vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has another immediate advantage over the others. The phase 3 trial included infected patients with at least one of the new strains of concern. They are more infectious and the South African strain is the only one that can evade coronavirus antibodies. The effectiveness of other vaccines against this strain is unclear, as the drug J&J shows 57% efficacy in South Africa, where 95% of COVID-19 trial cases were caused by B.1.351
Further addressing efficacy comparisons, Fauci also noted Jonson & Johnson’s research on a two-dose regimen. The company plans to see if a two-shot regime can further increase efficiency. “Let’s see what this shows. It could reach up to 90%, “the health expert said.” Heck, if you got 72 with a single dose, you’d think you’d do pretty well with a boost. “
The U.S. government already has a contract to buy 100 million doses of vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The US FDA decision is expected to be announced in late February.
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Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on technology issues with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he fails to stay away from them, even though he tries desperately. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.