Johnson & Johnson’s 1-shot COVID vaccine gets initial OK from the FDA

Needlephobes, listen up. Getting one injection of the COVID-19 vaccine, instead of two, may become a reality soon.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is giving a thumbs-up to the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine and will present its analysis to a panel of its experts on Friday. The group will decide whether to issue an Emergency Use Authorization.

The data reviewed by the FDA shows it to be safe and effective.

However, the Johnson & Johnson one isn’t as effective as the two-dose vaccines currently in use in the U.S.—72% versus in more than 90%.

“The vaccine is administered as a single dose, which provides operational benefits to mass vaccination campaigns,” says the report prepared for the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting.

The Janssen Ad26.COV2.S Vaccine is its official name. Janssen Pharmaceuticals is owned by Johnson & Johnson.

The two vaccines currently administered in the United States after securing EUAs are made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTec. Both require two shots.

As of this week, the United States has more than 28 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 502,00 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.