Johnson & Johnson vaccine: The third weapon in the fight against COVID-19

The United States has a third weapon in the fight against COVID-19: a new vaccine.

Johnson and Johnson vaccines will start reaching states as soon as Tuesday.

Action News Jax reported when the federal government gave the vaccine the green light this weekend.

An advisory committee with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously to recommend the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Sunday, with the CDC director signing off soon after.

A lot of people have been waiting for this vaccine because, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, you only need one dose.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine also does not have to be frozen. It can be stored in normal refrigerators, making it a lot easier to manage.

There’s a trade-off, though. It’s efficacy isn’t quite as high as the other ones, but federal health experts say all three are about the same when it comes to preventing severe illness.

Johnson & Johnson started shipping nearly 4 million vaccines out Sunday night, and officials expect another 16 million doses to be available by the end of March.

Leading health experts haven’t said whether a specific group is best suited for a certain vaccine. They say to take whatever vaccine you can get.

Administration officials say the Johnson and Johnson supplies are expected to be scarce until at least April.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, click here.

Cox Media Group