(CNN) -
Johnson & Johnson officially applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday for an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine.
"Today's submission for the emergency use authorization of our investigational single injection covid-19 vaccine is a critical step in reducing the burden of disease for people around the world and ending the pandemic," said Dr. Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson's chief scientific officer, said in a statement.
While the FDA reviews the results, it will schedule a public meeting of its Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biologics, an independent group of experts that will also review the data and make a recommendation that the agency takes into account when making a decision.
.
If the FDA decides to authorize the vaccine, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet to discuss whether the vaccine should be administered to Americans and, if so, who you must receive it first.
This same regulatory process for Pfizer took just over three weeks.
For Moderna it was a little more than two.
Vaccine