Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine “marks almost every box” on a list of what is needed in a coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Greg Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic’s vaccine research group, said Friday .
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe and effective, and has the advantage of being a single-dose vaccine that does not require special storage requirements, Poland told a meeting of vaccine advisers at the Food and Drugs of the United States.
“We need a vaccine that can be mass-produced quickly,” Poland said. “We would like to see a reasonable duration of effectiveness and protection.
“Vaccine candidate Janssen controls almost every box.”
The FDA’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meets to discuss the vaccine and will vote Friday later if the FDA’s emergency use authorization is recommended. The FDA almost always follows the committee’s recommendations.
“There are only three ways to control the pandemic,” Poland told the committee. “The first is a hard block,” with universal masking and social distancing, he said. “Second, the virus mutates to be less transmissible,” he added, but noted that more transmissible variants are already emerging and spreading.
The third is vaccination. “Vaccines are our main weapons to combat and control this threat,” Poland said.
He noted that the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen division was studied in several countries when the virus spread rapidly and when new variants were circulating.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which, if allowed, would be the third best in the United States, provided 85% protection against serious illness and the need to be hospitalized in advanced phase 3 clinical trials.