Coronavirus vaccine: How Johnson & Johnson compares to other Covid-19 vaccines

To create it, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small part of its genetic component with genes for spike proteins (the outer parts of the virus that look like a crown) of SARS-CoV. 2, the virus that produces covid-19.

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This modified adenovirus is then injected into the patient’s arm and penetrates his cells.

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The cells then read the genetic instructions needed to make the advanced proteins. Vaccinated cells produce and display these advanced proteins on their own surface.

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The person’s immune system notices these foreign proteins and begins to make antibodies, which will protect the person if exposed to the real virus in the future.

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Photo credit, Getty Images

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The adenovirus viral vector vaccine is safe because adenovirus cannot replicate in human cells or cause disease, while the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein cannot cause disease. covid-19 without the rest of the coronavirus.

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This kind of strategy is not new. Johnson & Johnson used a similar method to produce the Ebola vaccine.

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Indeed, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Astra-Zeneca laboratory uses an adenovirus viral vector.

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2. Is it effective?

FDA analysis found that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is 72% effective in preventing infection in all variants of COVID-19 and 86% effective in preventing severe cases of the disease.

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Although a vaccinated person can be infected, data suggests that the vaccine reduces the risk of requiring hospitalization or dying from the disease.

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A similar analysis was carried out in South Africa, where a much more contagious variant is dominant, and gave similar results.

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Researchers noted that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was slightly less effective at preventing disease there – 64% – but still 82% effective in preventing serious illness.

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Photo credit, Getty Images

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The FDA has also reported that this vaccine protects against other variants, such as those known in the UK and Brazil.

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3. How is it different from other vaccines?

The main difference is that Johnson & Johnson is an adenovirus viral vector vaccine, while Moderna and Pfizer are mRNA type.

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The mRNA, or messenger RNA, vaccines use the genetic instructions of the coronavirus to tell the cells of vaccinated people to produce the spike proteins, rather than using another virus as a vector.

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And there are other differences, from a practical point of view.

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Moderna and Pfizer vaccines both rely on two doses, several weeks apart. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only needs one.

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This is essential when there is not enough.

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Furthermore, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine does not require freezers for storage, unlike mRNAs which require a complex cold chain to be safely distributed.

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Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be stored for three months in a regular refrigerator, making it easy to use and distribute.

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In terms of their effectiveness, it is difficult to compare vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson due to the difference in the design of clinical trials.

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While Moderna and Pfizer have confirmed 95% efficacy in preventing the disease, clinical trials were conducted around mid-2020, before new variants of the virus appeared and were widely distributed.

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The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines may not be as effective against the newer variants, while Johnson & Johnson clinical trials were carried out more recently and took into account the efficacy against these new variants.

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Photo credit, Getty Images

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4. Is it recommended to choose one vaccine over another?

Although the overall efficacy of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is greater than that of Johnson & Johnson, it is not recommended to wait until the desired vaccine is available.

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Partly because it probably won’t happen for a long time, given the demand and supply issues.

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The vaccine Johnson & Johnson is almost as effective as mRNA vaccines at preventing severe cases, and that’s what really matters.

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Johnson & Johnson vaccines and other viral vectors, such as Astra-Zeneca, are particularly important to the global vaccination effort.

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From a public health perspective, having multiple Covid-19 vaccines is important, so Johnson & Johnson are very welcome as part of this pandemic arsenal.

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Photo credit, Getty Images

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And it doesn’t require a freezer, which makes shipping and storage much easier.

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This is a single injection vaccine, which makes the logistics easier compared to the organization required to administer two doses per person.

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In order to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible to limit the development of new variants of the coronavirus, Johnson & Johnson should soon ship nearly four million doses to the United States, as soon as the FDA clears its emergency use.

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Having a third vaccine licensed in the United States is a big step forward in meeting demand for vaccination and curbing the pandemic.

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Maureen Ferran is professor of biology at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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