LEXINGTON, Ky. — Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to protect against COVID-19 with a single dose.
While its efficacy is not as high as vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, which have been shown to be about 95% effective and require two doses, results from the third phase of the Johnson & Johnson trial show it is 66% effective overall at preventing the virus after 28 days, and 72% effective in the U.S. It's also 85% effective at preventing the most serious symptoms
Researchers tracked illnesses starting 28 days after vaccination – about the time when, if participants were getting a two-dose variety instead, they would have needed another shot.
After day 28, no one who got vaccinated needed hospitalization or died regardless of whether they were exposed to “regular COVID or these particularly nasty variants,” said Dr. Mathai Mammen, global research chief for J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical unit. When the vaccinated did become infected, they had a milder illness.
“And if you go out to day 49, instead of 28, there were no severe cases of COVID-19,” said Baptist Health Lexington’s Dr. David Dougherty, who helped lead vaccine trials in Kentucky.
"I would definitely recommend people get it, and vaccinate with the Janssen product and certainly not wait for another product in lieu of that," said Dr. Paul Schulz, a sub-investigator at Norton Healthcare, referring to the efficacy results.
Of the nearly 44,000 people who participated globally, 890 of them were in Kentucky – between the University of Kentucky, Baptist Health Lexington and Norton Healthcare in Louisville.
“The fact that no one died who got this vaccine makes me feel extremely comfortable with it," said Dr. Richard Greenberg, the University of Kentucky principal investigator for the trial.
According to Dr. Greenberg, a small but significant number of trial participants at UK had minimal or no reaction to the vaccine –especially older adults.
"We had no major concerns with regards to safety and side effects, no major unexpected reactions," agreed Dr. Dougherty at Baptist Health Lexington.
Dr. Green also said the results of the Johnson & Johnson trial include efficacy against the new variants of the coronavirus. This was not included in initial results from Moderna and Pfizer though both companies say their vaccines are effective against the new variants.
"Yes, the MRNA early cuts were fantastic," said Dr. Greenberg, "but that was then, this is now, with the South African variants and other variants existing and taking into the data set."
Johnson & Johnson still needs the green light from the government before it can begin shipping vaccines, but Dr. Greenberg believes it could be administered within the next couple of months.
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