By the end of this month, 20 million Americans are expected to have been vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine. Only one dose of the vaccine is sufficient to protect against a serious course of the coronavirus disease.
The Netherlands will receive a 3 million dose of the Janssen vaccine in the second quarter. This vaccine was partly developed in Leiden and is also produced here. The European medicine agency EMA will issue an opinion on the vaccine on 11 March.
–
–
What is the Janssen vaccine?
The Janssen vaccine builds on the success of Janssen pharmaceutical company with the Ebola vaccine. The coronavirus vaccine uses a harmless cold virus containing the genetic code of Covid-19. The body will produce spike proteins that stimulate the immune system in our body. In case of a future infection with the corona virus, this virus is recognized and cleaned up.
This vaccine has advantages over other vaccines. It does not need to be stored at cold temperatures, unlike Pfizer (-80 degrees). The Janssen vaccine can be stored at temperatures around 2 to 8 degrees. Administration of 1 dose is also sufficient.
The vaccine is on average 66% effective. In the US it turned out to be even more effective: 72%. The chance of a serious disease course even decreases by 85% and the vaccine offers 100% protection against death from the corona virus for the time being.
–
–
If the advice is positive, the European Commission must determine whether the product is allowed on the European market. This is followed by an advice from the Health Council, which looks at which groups the Janssen vaccine can best be administered.
Not at the expense of ‘our’ vaccines
This process is expected to take several days. Even after the Janssen vaccine has been approved in Europe, we still have to be patient. The contract between the pharmaceutical company and the EU states that the first deliveries will be made from April. The fact that the vaccine is approved earlier does not change that.
How it is possible that the United States does receive a supply of the Janssen vaccine immediately after authorization has to do with the contracts that have been concluded. “With the US on the one hand and the European Commission on the other. Agreements have been made in the contracts about the deliveries”, a spokeswoman for Janssen Nederland told RTL Nieuws.
–
–
Did the US negotiate better than the European Commission? “Everything we produce, we deliver. Traditionally, there has been close cooperation from Johnson & Johnson (the American parent company of Janssen, ed.). With previous vaccines, we also worked closely with the US and a new collaboration lay ahead of the company. hand, “said the spokeswoman.
The fact that the US has approved the Janssen vaccine earlier, according to the company, is not at the expense of the vaccines ordered by Europe.
Delivery to the Netherlands
When exactly we will have access to the first doses of the Janssen vaccine remains unclear. Whether deliveries can be made in the first week of April, the company spokeswoman cannot say. “We always inform the European Commission 30 days before delivery about the number of doses that will be delivered.”
–
–
