Johnson & Johnson filed a request for permission for his single-dose vaccine with the european medicines Agency. If it is accepted that France should receive the vaccine as early as the month of may.
[updated February 23, 2021 to 15h33] The american laboratory Johnson & Johnson filed a request for authorization of the vaccine in the EU, has announced the european medicines Agency on Tuesday 16 February. The decision from the EMA is expected in mid-march. If the vaccine is validated, it is expected to arrive in France in the course of the month of may, according to the ministry of Economy. The serum of Johnson & Johnson would be the fourth to be used in the EU, after one of AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The condition : “the company data on efficacy, safety and quality of the vaccine to be sufficiently comprehensive and convincing,” said the european regulator. The addition of the vaccine Janssen at the list could double the number of people vaccinated, since only a single dose is enough to protect them. For his part, the president of the european Commission welcomed the news : “More of safe and effective vaccines are coming”, said Ursula Von der Leyen, while stating that the Eu “is ready to give its approval as soon as the EMA has provided a positive scientific opinion”. The european Commission has already ordered 200 million doses of vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, with an option of 200 000 million. If the vaccine is licensed, 100 million doses are expected to be delivered by June.
The american group said that the vaccine was effective in 66% in general : the results of the phase 3 of the clinical trial reveal efficiency between 57% and 72% depending on the area to prevent moderate and severe forms of the virus 28 days after vaccination. Johnson & Johnson guarantees especially reliable protection to 85% against severe forms, and a “comprehensive protection against hospitalizations and deaths related to Covid-19”. The figures announced on January 30, in a press release, are based on an extensive study in eight countries and mobilizing more than 40 000 participants, including 468 symptomatic cases. Tested in various geographical areas, in the protection against infection by the Covid-19 is evaluated at the lowest in South Africa, where there is a variant to be more contagious in the virus. The vaccine provides an efficiency of 57%, which is higher than the expectations of the World Health Organization, set at 52%.
A single dose to accelerate the vaccinations
The candidate vaccine Janssen, pharmaceutical subsidiary of J&J is the only one to only require a single injection, and this is an argument of size. According to the ministry of Health, 1.7 million head over 4.3 million already taken were intended to administer the second dose of the vaccine. With the product of J&J every appointment would vaccinate a person, what free slots and set a good boost to the vaccination campaign. “Vaccines both are considered by the world health Organization as the best option in the situation of a pandemic. They improve access to the vaccine, its distribution and compliance,” says Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson. The other advantage of the product of J&J lies in its conservation easy. The lab estimates that the vaccine can “stay stable for two years at -20 degrees including three months between 2 and 8 degrees”, the vaccination centres but also doctors and pharmacists will be able to build a stock and administer the doses. The vaccine seems to be enough for trump to get the green light from the european medicines Agency.
What is the period of coverage ?
But the question remains, that of the duration of the protection afforded by the vaccine. J&J has explained not be able to deliver accurate information, but confirms that it will not observe a decrease in the number of antibodies before the first three months. For the three vaccines already on the market, the second dose is specifically intended consolidated the immune response and neutralizing. Scientists are divided on this point, if Marie-Paule Kieny, chairperson of the committee on Vaccine Covid-19, and director of research at the Inserm argues that “this is not a problem that seems to be crippling for the vaccine Janssen, as with other vaccines, it is not the time”, others believe that there is a risk of lack of protection.
How does the vaccine Janssen ?
