WASHINGTON, February 24. / TASS /. The third phase of trials of a single vaccine against a new type of coronavirus, manufactured by the American company Johnson & Johnson, has confirmed its effectiveness and safety. The Hill newspaper reported this with reference to the test results published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Last month, as the newspaper recalled, the company announced that the vaccine was 66% effective, but did not provide the results of its latest trials, including an updated version of the drug. According to the FDA, the vaccine can be up to 85% effective in treating the most severe cases of the disease.
Now, according to the publication, the FD expert council will hold a meeting on Friday, at which a decision will be made on the advisability of approving this drug as a means for emergency use against a new type of coronavirus. According to the newspaper, in case of a positive decision, the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson can be approved for use in the United States this week, becoming the third coronavirus drug used in the country, following vaccines from the BioNTech and Pfizer consortium and Moderna.
Johnson & Johnson announced on its website late last week that it had filed an application with the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use of its Janssen vaccine. The company has submitted to the organization a package of documents that includes preliminary assessments of the safety and efficacy of the drug based on data obtained during the third phase of clinical trials. During this phase, according to the company, the vaccine has been shown to be up to 85% effective.
On February 15, WHO approved two variants of the coronavirus vaccine from the British-Swedish company AstraZenec and the University of Oxford for emergency use. Earlier, the organization received the approval of the Comirnaty vaccine and the drug developed jointly by Pfizer and BioNTech. As explained in the WHO, the approval procedure provides for an assessment of the "safety and efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19." Only after the completion of this procedure, the drugs can be supplied to the countries of the world through the international mechanism for accessing COVAX vaccines. In addition, listing by WHO "enables countries to expedite their own regulatory approval for the import and use of vaccines."