The European Commission (EC) formally approved the use of the vaccine after it was recommended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday.
Unlike the other three vaccines that have already been registered, humans need a single dose of this vaccine.
The decision to register the J&J vaccine provides an opportunity to speed up the EU’s vaccination program, which is currently slow.
J&J announced a goal to start delivering the vaccine to the EU in the second half of April, and to supply 200 million doses of the vaccine to the EU, Norway and Iceland throughout 2021.
“More safe and effective vaccines are entering the market,” said President Urzula von der Leiena on Twitter.
We have just approved the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the EU (..) With the number of doses we have ordered we can [šogad] to vaccinate [ar J&J vakcīnu] up to 200 million people in the EU, ”said Leiena.
The EU has signed a firm order for 200 million doses of this vaccine and a possible delivery of another 200 million doses.
The advantage of the J&J vaccine is that it requires only one dose to vaccinate one person, and that the vaccine is easier to store.
Because J&J has a European subsidiary, Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen), this vaccine is also called the Covid-19 Vaccine Janssen or Janssen vaccine. 841,414 doses of Janssen vaccine have been ordered in the Latvian vaccine portfolio, and deliveries of this vaccine will be from April to the end of the year.
This vaccine is used to prevent coronavirus infection in people from 18 years of age. In order for the vaccine to be registered for use throughout the EU, the vaccine also required an EC marketing authorization, as recommended by the ESA.
More than 44,000 people have participated in clinical trials of this vaccine in the United States, South Africa and South America. Studies show that the vaccine is 67% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19.
In the ‘Covid-19 Vaccine Janssen’ studies, the side effects were mild to moderate and disappeared a few days after vaccination. The most common side effects were injection site pain, headache, tiredness, muscle aches and nausea.
Covid19 Vaccine Janssen will prepare the body to protect against coronavirus. Another virus (adenovirus) has been used in the development of the vaccine, which has been laboratory modified to provide the gene needed to make the S protein in coronavirus. Coronavirus uses this S protein to enter the human body.
The altered adenovirus in the vaccine acts as a delivery system that delivers antibodies to the cells in the human body. Once Covid-19 Vaccine Janssen has been given to the body, the vaccine’s immune system will perceive the S protein in the vaccine as foreign to the body and will make antibodies and T cells (white blood cells) as a result of a natural defense.
If a vaccinated person comes into contact with the virus later, the immune system will recognize it and be prepared to fight it. Antibodies and T cells will be able to work together to kill the virus, prevent it from entering the body’s cells and kill the infected cells, helping to protect against Covid-19.
The adenovirus in this vaccine cannot multiply or infect the human body, but provides instructions on how to protect the body against Covid-19.
Conditional registration is one of the regulatory mechanisms to speed up the registration and availability of medicines, as well as vaccines, in public health emergencies in the EU, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. To date, Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have also been registered in Europe under these conditions.
