TAMPA, Fla. — Having a third coronavirus vaccine option available increases the available supply and allows more Americans to get shots.
But some people are concerned about the efficacy of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot compared to Pfizer and Moderna. Dr. Jill Roberts at USF Health helped us break down what you need to know.
To start, Trial data shows Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. It's also 66 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe symptoms.
Pfizer and Moderna are roughly 95 effective at preventing symptomatic COVID.
Dr. Roberts says there's no reason to be concerned about which one you get.
"I saw a great quote from somebody at NIH that said the endpoint that we're shooting for here is not dying of a dreadful disease. Every single one of the vaccines will do that for you. All of them."
Another advantage she says is the latest vaccine is one dose. When people have to get two shots, there's more of what's called "lost to follow up." Dr. Roberts says people get the first shot, but then don't get the second which means efficacy is not reached.
Another difference with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is it's an adenovirus while Pfizer and Moderna are MRNA vaccines. Meaning the adenovirus is live and the coronavirus is not.
According to Dr. Roberts, this means people who are immunocompromised cannot take the latest vaccine. She says it also does not mean you can get coronavirus from it.
"It's not possible because it doesn't have the actual virus. You need the whole thing. All it has is the spike protein," Dr. Roberts said.
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