Johnson & Johnson results giving hope to people waiting for COVID-19 vaccines

Phil Rosenthal told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson he felt relieved after getting his first COVID-19 vaccine shot in Gwinnett County.

“I’m just concerned for my family,” Rosenthal said.

But the small provider that gave him his first dose said they don’t know when or if they can give him his booster shot.

“They said we certainly will let you know if we get it but they said they have absolutely no idea,” Rosenthal said.

That’s why a one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson could be a big help for states desperate to vaccinate more people.

“That’s the problem with the booster, you need two shots,” Rosenthal said.

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The trade-off is Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is less effective than Moderna and Pfizer’s two-dose vaccines.

The company said its vaccine is 66% effective at preventing symptoms and it’s 85% effective against symptoms serious enough to send someone to the hospital.

Dr. Ted Ross heads the Center of Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia.

“The more vaccines that come out that are effective, is good for the U.S. and the world population,” Ross said.

He told Johnson that the effectiveness shown so far is still above the typical flu vaccine and says it looks like the FDA will grant emergency authorization.

“The advantage is that you will get more people vaccinated in a shorter period of time,” Ross said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires regular refrigeration instead freezers. And it uses a different technology than Pfizer and Moderna to only require one dose.

“It produces the protein longer in your body so that you can get a stronger immune response to the single vaccination,” Ross said.

As the virus continues to mutate, the vaccine’s effectiveness varies by country. In the U.S., Johnson & Johnson said the vaccine is 72% effective against moderate to severe illness. In South Africa, about 57%.

But the company’s overall efficacy against serious disease is encouraging for experts.

“So what’s nice about these formulations is that they’re easily adaptable to adjust to new variants that come along,” Ross said.

Johnson & Johnson plans to apply for emergency authorization next week. The FDA could clear it by the end of next month.

Gov. Brian Kemp said supply constraints are what’s holding back an expansion of the vaccine rollout.

Georgia Tech’s Dr. Eva Lee is advocating for more efficient distribution of the vaccines once more doses arrive.

“I think that is what we are seeing, is like many of these little fires and combined together, it just basically slows the entire process,” Lee said.

For Rosenthal, he hopes a new single-dose vaccine means fewer people with uncertainty between shots.

“It’s a pretty scary situation. And I and you know, I wish I knew the answer to it,” Rosenthal said.