One-Shot Only Johnson and Johnson Vaccine Cleared by FDA, Granting US Its Third COVID-19 Shot

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Feb 27, 2021 10:29 PM EST

United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and is now part of the roster of vaccine brands to be administered among Americans to have their protection against COVID-19. ABC News reported that health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed the vaccinations as they take a race against a virus that has taken so much toll, taking the lives of more than 510,00 Americans.

KSL.com also noted the words of the FDA saying that Johnson and Johnson's vaccine offers strong protection against serious hospitalization, illness, and death.

Experts on Johnson and Johnson vaccine

ABC News referenced an interview of the Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins saying that the clearing of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a piece of good news, emphasizing the most important thing which is inoculating or getting as many shots in as many arms they can.

According to Johnson and Johnson's statement, their vaccine is 85 percent effective in overall preventing severe disease and demonstrated complete protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death. ABC News added that protection remained strong even in countries such as South Africa where variants of most concern are spreading.

KSL.com shared the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci saying that it is better to put more vaccines that have high efficacy the government can get into play.

ABC News added that Johnson and Johnson is seeking Authorization for Emergency Use of its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization. The company also seeks to produce about one billion doses globally by the end of the year. ABC News also mentioned the statement of U.S. President Joe Biden expressing his bliss in the clearing of the vaccine as exciting news for the Americans, yet reminding them that the fight against the virus is not yet over.

How is Johnson and Johnson vaccine different from the other known COVID-19 vaccines?

According to The Conversation, Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is a viral vector vaccine where the developers took a harmless adenovirus (which is the viral vector). The Conversation furthered that the developers replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2.

The Conversation added that after modifying the adenovirus, it will be injected into someone's arm then enter the person's cells, the genetic instruction will be read by the cells and the vaccinated cells will produce the present spike protein on their surface. The immune system will then notice the foreign proteins and make antibodies against them, which will protect an individual if ever the virus appears inside the body.

ABC News noted that the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was authorized for emergency use in adults 18 and older for now. Johnson and Johnson is about to study how their vaccine works in teens before moving to younger children later in the year.