The FDA has approved the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
J&J says its COVID-19 vaccine is 99% effective in keeping people out of the hospital and about 66% effective in avoiding illness. That’s similar to what you’d see in an annual flu shot. It’s one dose, and reported side effects have been mild.
Taking a small amount of the coronavirus’ genetic material combined with a weakened version of a common cold virus called adenovirus. That combination can enter cells but won’t replicate and make us sick. Growing the adenovirus takes more time to make at mass scale, so the drugmaker was slower in their clinical trials as they ramped up production. This same process was used to develop the Ebola vaccine.
It's important to note this is emergency approval, not full FDA approval. Basically what that means is though it was put together fast, the experts think that the benefits outweigh any risks at this point in the pandemic.
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