SOUTHERN COLORADO — If the Food and Drug Administration approves the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine, it could potentially be available as soon as three weeks. The vaccine promises to prevent moderate to severe COVID, and even some protection against one of the COVID variants.
Johnson and Johnson has officially submitted an application to the FDA for emergency authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine.
If authorized, the J and J Vaccine will be the third available here in the United States. This vaccine has shown to be 72% effective in the U.S. at preventing moderate to severe COVID. It has also proven to have some protection against the South African variant.
"Remember, the most important thing is keeping people out of the hospital and preventing people from dying," said NBC News Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. John Torres. "And there weren't any hospitalizations or deaths four weeks after getting the shot in J and J's phase three clinical trial."
The next step is for this vaccine to be fully evaluated for safety and efficacy by an FDA advisory panel of independent experts. This panel plans to meet in a couple of weeks on Friday, February 26 and if the FDA approves it, the J and J Vaccine could be rolling out a couple of days later.
This vaccine will be the first that requires a single dose of a shot in the arm.
