The United States on Saturday granted an emergency authorization for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine against Covid-19, a news welcomed by President Joe Biden who, however, called not to “
lower our guard
” in the face of the epidemic.
This single-dose vaccine, which can be stored at refrigerator temperatures, joins those of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna in the massive vaccination campaign in the United States, where the pandemic has claimed more than 500,000 lives.
Read also: Covid-19: the United States are "several weeks ahead" on the vaccination program
After studying in detail the data of clinical trials, conducted on more than 43,000 people, a committee of experts had recommended Friday the marketing of the vaccine of the American company.
At least three million doses of the product are ready for distribution as early as next week, according to the US government.
Johnson & Johnson has pledged to ship 100 million doses to the United States by the end of June.
"
This is great news for all Americans, and an encouraging step in our efforts to end the crisis,
" Joe Biden said in a statement.
"
But we cannot let our guard down or take it for granted that victory is inevitable,
" he added.
Also read: 'Vaccines are safe,' Biden tells Americans
With 600 million doses ordered in total from Pfizer and Moderna, the United States will have, by the end of July, enough vaccine to immunize almost the entire population.
The addition of those from Johnson & Johnson could further accelerate the vaccination campaign.