Good news for those of us still waiting to get vaccinated due to the short supplies.
Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine gets emergency use authorization from FDA:
The US Food and Drug Administration authorized Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine Saturday. It is the first single dose Covid-19 vaccine available in the US, and is one that "checks nearly all the boxes."
With more than 28.5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 511,000 reported deaths in the US since the start of the pandemic, and while the demand for vaccine still far exceeds supply, these vaccines can't come soon enough.
"A third safe and effective vaccine is very welcome news," Andy Slavitt, the White House's senior for Covid Response, tweeted on Friday.
The vaccine, made by Janssen, J&J's vaccine arm, is safe and effective, and it's considered flexible. It's a single dose, and it doesn't require special storage.
The vaccine is authorized for people ages 18 and older.
Dr. Anthony made the rounds on the Sunday shows to discuss the news, and was asked by Meet the Press host Chuck Todd about the difference in the efficacy rates between the three vaccines that have received emergency authorization.
Fauci urged viewers to take any of the vaccines that are available to them, and said "the trial data shouldn't be compared for the three vaccines because they were not tested at the same time."
In an interview with "Meet the Press," Fauci said that he would take any of the three approved vaccines — from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson — because all provide strong protection from severe disease related to the coronavirus. [...]
“All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that's most available to them,” he said.
"If you go to a place and you have J&J, and that's the one that's available now, I would take it. I personally would do the same thing. I think people need to get vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible.” [...]
While those efficacy rates are lower than those of the Moderna and Pfizer shots, Fauci told “Meet the Press” that Americans should not be trying to compare the shots’ efficacy numbers side-by-side because each shot was examined in a different trial amid different circumstances. For example, public health officials have been more concerned in recent weeks about the rise in variants that could possibly evade vaccines.
“It’s not the weaker vaccine, they are all three really good vaccines,” Fauci said of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
