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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to join vaccines that have been approved to prevent the corona virus, after the US company revealed on Friday that it was 72% effective in recent trials in the United States.
The most important thing that sets Johnson’s vaccine apart from other vaccines on the market, the most important of which are Pfizer and Moderna, is that one dose, not two, is enough to provide protection against the disease, according to the company. .
Also, the vaccine can be stored in regular coolers for three months, compared to minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit for the Pfizer vaccine, which only stays good for five days in regular coolers, while our company must be shipped at freezing temperature. and remains valid for one month in ordinary coolers.
Reduce the gap
These characteristics can effectively help close the current vaccine gap, at a time when the Corona virus is spreading at breakneck speed due to further changes in its genetic makeup, not to mention cold weather and climate change.
Dr Bruce Lee, professor of public health at New York University, told National Geographic magazine: “The Johnson vaccine can be a game-changer because it is given as a single dose … and is easy. to manage and manufacture. “
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to review the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency purposes next week, according to the magazine.
Adenovirus
Another key feature is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has developed a medically known mechanism called a viral vector, an approach the company used to develop an Ebola vaccine that the European Commission agreed to use last July.
This approach, which relies on a vector called an “adenovirus”, does not cause the vaccine recipient to experience a global infection because the vector does not multiply in the human body. Rather, its tasks are limited only to the transfer of a Corona virus gene that carries the codes that create virus particles (spike protein) that stimulate the body to develop antibodies.
In contrast, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are based on messenger RNA, which is used for the first time in humans.
Among the most dangerous mutated Corona strains is the British strain known as B117 and another native to South Africa is B. 1.351
Challenge the fears
Much like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Johnson & Johnson have expressed concern about protection against the South African strain. The three companies are studying the possibility of introducing updates to the vaccine to increase its effectiveness.
Despite its relatively low efficacy rate compared to Pfizer (95%) and Moderna (94%), researchers believe the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, with its familiar technology, can be trusted by many given concerns about the technology. of mRNA used in the other two vaccines.
If approved, Johnson & Johnson has said it could produce 100 million doses of its vaccine by next June.
Other vaccines on the market include AstraZeneca, approved in Europe, Russian Sputnik, and Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac.
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