Johnson & Johnson vaccine would protect against variant 0:57
(CNN) - The
United States is one step closer to having a third covid-19 vaccine and it might not arrive soon enough.
With people clamoring for an injection, it was good news that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysis of data from Johnson & Johnson's trial showed that their vaccine is safe and effective.
Here's what that could mean to you.
How soon will the J&J vaccine be available?
It could be as early as next week.
The vaccine still has some steps to go before the FDA grants emergency use authorization.
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On Friday, FDA's Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee holds a public meeting.
This independent group of experts determines if the vaccine works and if it is safe.
They will then make a recommendation to the FDA.
The FDA usually follows their advice.
The FDA could approve the vaccine on Friday or Saturday.
On Sunday afternoon, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known as ACIP, will meet and set guidelines on who should get the vaccine.
Your vote is scheduled for 3 in the afternoon.
From there, the vaccine could begin to be distributed from J&J facilities to vaccination centers across the country.
But don't expect those vaccine waiting lists to move anytime soon.
The offer is limited.
The company says it only has 4 million doses of its vaccine ready to ship "immediately."
It should have 20 million ready by the end of March.
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Where will people get this vaccine?
That depends on where you live.
The Biden administration said Tuesday that about 2 million doses will go to the states after the vaccine is licensed.
Since the states don't have many details yet, there are many plans in the air.
Until they know details like how many and when they will get their shots, planning is hard.
They also want to know who the vaccine might work best for.
Arkansas said it will not have details to share until it knows more about the characteristics of the vaccine.
Colorado said that regardless of the details, it hopes the J&J vaccine will be available at mass vaccination sites.
New York City plans a new initiative to expand access for seniors.
Since the J&J vaccine only requires one injection and does not require special refrigeration, medical personnel will be able to bring the vaccine to homebound adults who cannot reach the vaccination center.
The White House said Monday that vaccines not being shipped to states in this initial deployment will go to pharmacies and community health centers.
Will I be able to choose the type of vaccine I will receive?
It depends.
“My advice to all my patients and all my friends will be to get the first vaccination they can.
That's the most important thing: protect yourself, ”said Dr. Jeff Carson, president of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Colorado plans to offer an option at its largest mass vaccination sites, according to Brig.
General Scott Sherman, director of the State Unified Coordination Center's Vaccine Task Force.
But that may not be true for all places where people get vaccinated.
Right now, with Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, some sites have been offering the vaccine that they had the most that day.
The offer changes from week to week.
Also, it is unclear at this time whether the J&J dosage will be better for one group or the other.
The ACIP committee will help make that determination on Sunday and from there the states will make decisions based on those guidelines.
How long do I have to wait to get protection from this vaccine compared to others?
With any vaccine, it takes your body a few weeks to build immunity.
Protection does not happen immediately.
With the J&J vaccine, it appears that protection against moderate / severe disease begins approximately two weeks after vaccination.
Four weeks after the injection, clinical trial data showed there were no hospitalizations or deaths.
Remember, this is a single dose injection, so there is no need to wait for a second dose to develop full protection.
US testing of the J&J injection showed that it provides 72% protection against moderate to severe illness after one month.
Recent studies show that you get a good level of protection with the first dose of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, but you don't get full protection until about two weeks after your second dose.
With Moderna's vaccine, the CDC says you should get your second injection four weeks after your first.
With the Pfizer injection it's three weeks.
It takes about two weeks to develop the optimal level of protection after the second injection.
These vaccines prevent covid-19 disease 95% of the time.
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How safe is it?
The FDA analysis said the J&J vaccine has a "favorable safety profile."
The side effects were mostly mild.
The most common were injection site pain, headache, fatigue, and muscle pain.
Some people had hives.
Most of these side effects disappeared within a day or two.
There appeared to be more incidents related to blood clotting and ringing in the ears among people who received the vaccine in the trial compared to those who did not, but the FDA notes that 'the data at this time is insufficient to determine a causal relationship between these events and the vaccine ”.
There were no reports of serious allergic reactions with it.
With Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines against COVID-19, there have been a handful of serious allergic reactions, but this has been an extremely rare result.
For example, in the first week of the Pfizer vaccine rollout, there were only 29 cases in 1.9 million doses administered, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Johnson and Johnsonvaccine against covid-19
