By Alexandra Sifferlin Senior Staff Editor |
There will likely be a third Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in the United States very soon. |
Today, a committee of experts for the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing Johnson & Johnson's one-dose Covid-19 vaccine to decide whether it should be granted "emergency use authorization" — the green light that would allow it to be put into arms across the country. The clinical trial data shows the vaccine is safe and can strongly protect against severe Covid-19 and death, so it's expected to get approval. |
As the new health and science editor for Opinion, my question when covering the pandemic is always: What does this mean for the average person? |
Experts have said for months that people should get any of the F.D.A.-approved vaccines. But it's helpful to understand why. |
The effectiveness data for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine looks great compared to any reasonable benchmark for a vaccine against the coronavirus, even if the numbers are not quite as good as those reported by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. |
It's understandable for people to wonder if they should try to hold out for what they may think is the "better" vaccine. In anticipation of these questions — and, honestly, to address the many DMs and texts I receive from readers and friends about this — I asked Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, the executive director of the public health research group PHICOR, to share the reasons people should get whatever vaccine they can the fastest, based on his published research. |
As Lee details in his Op-Ed today, his team developed a computational simulation model of the entire United States and assessed what would happen if people got vaccines of varying levels of efficacy at different rates and times. "As we reported in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, in most cases, getting people vaccinated sooner with a lower efficacy vaccine prevented many more Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths compared to waiting even just a month for a higher efficacy vaccine," Lee writes. |
He also argues that there are other factors beyond effectiveness rates that make a vaccine worthwhile. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose and can be stored at regular refrigerator temperatures. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines need to be stored in freezing temperatures and require people to receive two shots, separated by a few weeks. |
I always hesitate to use the words "game changer," so let's just say the expected approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has the potential to greatly improve vaccine rollout in the United States and the rest of the world. |
And as Lee writes, getting any of the approved vaccines as soon as you are eligible is important — "not just for protecting yourself, but for helping get life back to normal for everyone." |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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