Single shot Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine recommended for FDA authorisation

If approved by FDA it would become the third vaccine authorised for emergency use in US

The single shot Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine has been recommended by experts for Food and Drug Administration authorisation.

The unanimous recommendation on Friday paves the way for the FDA to fully approve the vaccine, making it the third one available in the US.

If the FDA signs off on it this weekend, millions of doses of the vaccine, which does not need specialist cold storage, could be available across the country next week.

The rollout of a third vaccine comes as the US has just passed 500,000 deaths during the pandemic.

To date, only vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved for emergency use in the US by federal authorities and a third would help health officials speed up the rate of vaccination.

Earlier this week Joe Biden marked the country passing the 50 million vaccinations, and the president has vowed to vaccinate 100 million people in his first 100 days in office.

Johnson & Johnson is expected to ramp up production of the vaccine, if approved, and plans to deliver 20 million doses by the end of March.

The company’s data shows that their vaccine was 72 per cent effective at preventing cases of moderate to severe Covid-19 in the US.

The firm also stated to the FDA that the vaccine was 85 per cent effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19.

The US government has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine at a cost of $1.5bn, all of which would be delivered by the end of June.

The first two vaccines were given the green light by officials in December and the president has said that everyone in the country who wants the vaccine will have it by the end of July.