Committee recommends authorizing Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use

WASHINGTON — The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee reportedly has recommended Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine for emergency use authorization for people ages 18 and older.

The FDA is scheduled to make a final decision this weekend, perhaps as early as Saturday, for emergency use authorization.

After daylong discussions, the FDA panelists voted unanimously that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for adults. If the FDA agrees, shipments of a few million doses could begin as early as Monday.

“There’s an urgency to get this done,” said Dr. Jay Portnoy of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. “We’re in a race between the virus mutating and new variants coming out that can cause further disease and stopping it.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine protects against COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators Wednesday that set the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

The FDA’s scientists confirmed that overall the vaccine is about 66% effective at preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19. The agency also said J&J’s shot — one that could help speed vaccinations by requiring just one dose instead of two — is safe to use.

That’s just one step in the FDA’s evaluation of a third vaccine option for the U.S.

The vaccination drive has been slower than hoped, hampered by logistical issues and weather delays even as the country mourns more than 500,000 virus-related deaths. So far, about 65 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna, shots that require two doses several weeks apart for full protection.

J&J tested its single-dose option in 44,000 people in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa. Because different mutated versions of the virus are circulating in different countries, researchers analyzed the results geographically. J&J previously announced the vaccine worked better in the U.S. — 72% effective against moderate-to-severe COVID-19, compared with 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa.

Still, in every country it was highly effective against the most serious symptoms, and early study results showed no hospitalizations or deaths starting 28 days after vaccination.

While the overall effectiveness numbers may suggest the J&J candidate isn’t quite as strong as two-dose competitors, all of the world’s COVID-19 vaccines have been tested differently, making comparisons nearly impossible. While it wouldn’t be surprising if one dose turns out to be a little weaker than two doses, policymakers will decide if that’s an acceptable trade-off to get more people vaccinated faster.

J&J was on track to become the world’s first one-dose option until earlier this month, when Mexico announced it would use a one-dose version from China’s CanSino. That vaccine is made with similar technology as J&J’s but initially was developed as a two-dose option until beginning a one-dose test in the fall.

The rival Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being used in the U.S. and numerous other countries must be kept frozen, while the J&J shot can last three months in the refrigerator, making it easier to handle. AstraZeneca’s vaccine, widely used in Europe, Britain and Israel, is made similarly and also requires refrigeration but takes two doses.

If the FDA clears the J&J shot for U.S. emergency use, it won’t boost vaccine supplies significantly right away. Only a few million doses are expected to be ready for shipping in the first week. But J&J told Congress this week that it expected to provide 20 million doses by the end of March and 100 million by summer.

European regulators and the World Health Organization also are considering J&J’s vaccine. Worldwide, the company aims to produce about 1 billion doses by the end of the year.

Rich Barak of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.