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Photographer: Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
Photographer: Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
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Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine should be used to inoculate U.S. adults aged 18 and older, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisers said in a 12-0 vote.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices held an emergency meeting on Sunday to review the J&J shooting, which the Food and Drug Administration cleared on Saturday night. CDC director Rochelle Walensky must now approve the recommendation of the group of independent doctors and immunization experts.
J & J’s vaccine can be administered once the CDC finalizes its guidelines. The first doses will be distributed soon, making it the third Covid-19 vaccine available in the United States.
The plan differs from those already used, one of Moderna Inc. and the other partner Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, due to its single dose regimen and ability to be refrigerated, both of which help facilitate distribution and administration.
These characteristics can help vaccinations reach certain groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic, such as the homeless, rural residents, those involved in law enforcement, the disabled and homebound. as well as those with limited access to health care, a CDC critic said.
The injections could also be given in doctors’ offices. The Biden administration said 3-4 million doses would be ready for the initial surge.
Vaccine preferences
Health officials may need to persuade people to take a single injection of J&J rather than two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. A February survey found that only 7% of people would choose a single-dose vaccine, compared with 58% who said they preferred a two-dose series, according to a presentation at the online meeting. About one in five people said they would agree to one or the other.
Of those who want a two-dose vaccine, 28% said they would get a single-dose option rather than waiting a month to get another. The investigation was conducted before all data on J & J’s vaccine became available, which may affect attitudes.
Jason Goldman, a representative from the American College of Physicians, stressed the importance of discouraging comparisons between the three available Covid-19 vaccines.
“We want to make sure the public understands that the best vaccine is the one they can access,” said Goldman, committee liaison.
Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said on Sunday he would not hesitate to take J&J’s vaccine. Americans should take all the vaccines available to them, he said in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview.
(Updates with comments from the panelist and Fauci in the last three paragraphs.)
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