On Sunday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisers voted to recommend the Johnson & Johnson (J & J) Covid-19 vaccine which was almost immediately signed off by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky for the distribution in US.

The J & J vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in preventing severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization, and death. This vaccine is also another important tool in our toolbox to equitably vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of CDC (source: CNN Health)

“As a one-dose vaccine, people do not have to return for a second dose to be protected. In addition, this vaccine does not need to be kept in a freezer and can be stored at refrigerated temperatures — so it is easy to transport and store and allows for expanded availability in most community settings and mobile sites, as supply scales up,” added Dr Walensky.

Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public Health said Sunday on CNN’s Inside Politics “This is a terrific vaccine and I would certainly, I would take it. I would recommend it to my family and I think people who are worried about that headline number, I say ignore it because that’s not really what you care about.”

“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was tested against the South Africa variant in South Africa, tested against the variant in Brazil. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines weren’t, we are not comparing the same thing. When you look at what we really compare about which is preventing hospitalizations and deaths, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine comes in at 100% once it’s had a chance to work,” added Dr. Jha.

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Single-dose J & J Vaccine – A Big Deal

Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University told CNN that because the J & J vaccine requires only a single dose “makes it a game-changer.

It’s been such a challenge to get even a single dose to many people. Signing up for a second one, keeping track of that, getting transportation, it’s just a huge barrier for many Americans and then of course in harder-to-reach places, including rural America, it’s just been a huge logistical challenge.

Dr. Esther Choo, professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (source: CNN Health)

In the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Lisa Schnirring writes “The one-dose vaccine—shipped and stored at regular refrigeration temperatures—gives health providers a more streamlined, agile tool for immunizing people in a range of settings, including mobile clinics, community sites, and underserved groups such as homeless people”.

“The J&J vaccine, which is easier to transport and store … is going to dramatically increase our vaccine availability,” told Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University.