Single Shot Johnson & Johnson approved - The need for single-shot vaccines.

In the past, it took at least a decade for a vaccine to be declared safe enough to be administered to patients. Not to mention the fact that creating a vaccine to the point of distribution is extremely expensive. The COVID-19 virus, however, was/is spreading at such a rapid rate that a need for a vaccine became one of the top priorities worldwide. In a surprisingly short time, scientific teams all over the world have created successful vaccines for this pandemic.

The FDA recently approved the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) single-shot vaccine. This vaccine is cost-efficient. This vaccine was developed primarily by J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutica division. Many countries have given requests for doses of this vaccine as there are a few obvious benefits that differentiate this vaccine from others. A few of the benefits are as follows:

1. This vaccine does not require a booster shot.

2. It does not need to be kept at a very low temperature, so instead of using a freezer to store this vaccine, a refrigerator can be used.

3. Fewer vaccine appointments will be needed.

4. It can be stored for approximately 3 months in the refrigerator.

This vaccine was made using an approach that is somewhat similar to the vaccine that J&J used successfully against Ebola. This vaccine was tested on approximately 44,00 people in South Africa, Brazil, and the US.

This jab is a viral vector vaccine. Its main structure is based on a human adenovirus that was modified so that it contains the genes for making the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is what is causing Covid-19. The specific type of adenovirus that is used for manufacturing this vaccine is adenovirus type 26, also known as Ad26. Adenovirus is a group of viruses that is quite common. Ad26, however, is not only dangerous, it can cause pink eye and/or the symptoms of a cold. This vaccine has been properly modified to ensure that it can’t replicate in the patient's body and cause sickness. The immune system of any person will appropriately respond to this spike protein and start to produce antibodies.

This vaccine is 66% effective in staving off symptomatic Coronavirus.

It has an 85% potency of preventing a patient from getting severe COVID-19.

There is a 100% efficacy in stopping the death or hospitalization of a patient with COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration has seen it appropriate to give this vaccine an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA).

This vaccine is not only easy to transport, it has demonstrated protection against multiple variants, which will help in making sure that fewer/no people contract this virus. This vaccine also offers faster protection and is simpler to administer than those that need booster shots. This vaccine can be administered to anyone aged 18 or above.

---