Johnson & Johnson on Thursday asked US regulators to clear its COVID-19 vaccine, the first of the various vaccines to be a single-dose vaccine, The Associated Press reports.
J&J’s vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study.
The single-dose vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, according to early findings from a study of 44,000 people in the US, Latin America and South Africa.
However, it was 85% protective against the most serious symptoms and starting 28 days after their shot, researchers found no one who got the vaccine needed hospitalization or died.
J&J also is studying a two-dose version of its vaccine, but results will not be available for several more months, noted AP.
The company said it would have some vaccine ready to ship if the FDA allows emergency use of the shot and said it expects to supply 100 million doses to the US by the end of June.