Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended the first single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, for individuals 18 years of age and older under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced Janssen Global Services in a news release.
J&J has begun shipping its COVID-19 vaccine and expects to deliver enough single-shot vaccines by the end of March to enable the full vaccination of more than 20 million people in the U.S. The company plans to deliver 100 million single-shot vaccines to the U.S. during the first half of 2021. The U.S. government will manage allocation and distribution of the vaccine in the U.S.
J&J also recently announced its submission of a European Conditional Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency as well as its filing for an Emergency Use Listing with the World Health Organization for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. In addition, rolling submissions for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate have been initiated in several countries worldwide.
The J&J vaccine is compatible with standard vaccine storage and distribution channels with ease of delivery to remote areas. The vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at -4°F (-20°C), and a maximum of three months at routine refrigeration at temperatures of 36-46°F (2 to 8°C). The Company will ship the vaccine using the same cold chain technologies it uses today to transport treatments for cancer, immunological disorders and other medicines. The vaccine should not be re-frozen if distributed at temperatures of 36°F–46°F (2°-8°C). The vaccine leverages the AdVac vaccine platform, a proprietary technology that was also used to develop and manufacture Janssen's European Commission-approved Ebola vaccine regimen and construct its investigational Zika, RSV, and HIV vaccines. The vaccine has not been approved or licensed by the FDA.
