J&J Covid Vaccine Could Protect Millions—If They Take It
- Simplicity in messaging key in campaign to accept J&J shot
- One-dose version’s overall efficacy is below Pfizer, Moderna
Photographer: Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images
Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine could protect millions more Americans from contracting the coronavirus. The key will be assuring people that the single-shot vaccine is worth taking, as its overall efficacy appears lower than the two-dose ones already on the market in the U.S.
J&J’s shot, which U.S. regulators authorized Saturday, is more convenient than the vaccines cleared by the Food and Drug Administration last year. It requires one injection and can be stored for months in a refrigerator. State health officials and the Biden administration see it as a way to quickly host mass clinics as more transmissible virus variants continue to spread. Yet the ease of distributing the vaccine will need to be balanced with the risk of creating the perception that J&J’s shot is an inferior option.
At first blush, J&J’s formula looks less effective than the vaccines from Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. It was found to be 72% effective in preventing moderate-to-severe Covid-19 cases in the U.S., and 66% effective globally. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna respectively touted 95% and 94% efficacy in preventing symptoms of the disease.