Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 is approved in the United States



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The new single-dose vaccine is highly effective in preventing acute COVID-19 infection, including newer strains, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said before approving the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.

“This is good news for all Americans and an encouraging boost in our efforts to end this crisis,” said US President Joe Biden.

However, he urged Americans to remain vigilant and adhere to restrictions imposed by the virus, such as social distancing requirements, and warned that new strains of the virus remain a threat.

“But we cannot relax now or think that victory is inevitable,” he said.

The vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson is already the third COVID-19 vaccine certified for distribution in the United States.

It is seen as a crucial move to further accelerate the vaccination campaign in the United States, where the coronavirus infection has claimed more than 500,000 lives. human lives.

In large clinical trials, the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in preventing severe COVID-19 was 85.9%. In the United States, 81.7 percent. In South Africa and 87.6 percent. In Brazil.

In all the mentioned regions, 39,321 thousand people participated in the research. in humans and the overall efficacy of the vaccine in preventing a severe form of infection was 85.4 percent, but, including milder forms of the disease, it was less than 66.1 percent.

However, it is important to note that the analysis of different demographic groups did not reveal significant differences in efficacy in terms of age, race or people with comorbidities.

News of the new vaccine approved was announced after the US House of Representatives approved 1.9 billion. A $ 1,000 toolkit that includes, among other things, $ 1,400 in benefits for Americans and $ 1 billion for vaccine delivery. This funding should allow schools to open and provide additional funding for local authorities. It has not yet been approved by the Senate.

For June: 100 million. dose

In addition to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the vaccines developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, which were approved in December, are already in use in the United States.

More than 65 million have received at least one dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in the United States. people. However, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given in a single dose and can be stored at normal refrigerator temperature.

Johnson & Johnson has announced that it will aim to deliver 20 million units by the end of March. vaccine doses and 100 million for June. dose, although the United States is pushing for faster delivery.

Restrictions in Europe

At that time, European countries continue to live under one of the most severe restrictions in the world. And in France, they have become even tougher. The north of Dunkirk and the south of Nice imposed quarantine over the weekend to stop the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.5 million lives worldwide. The restrictions are being reintroduced or reinforced in several countries from Brazil and the Czech Republic.

Even New Zealand’s largest, relatively unaffected city, Auckland, was quarantined on Saturday after the city closed for three days. A small number of new cases is associated with a single school, but the total number of cases in a country is still incomparably lower than in countries in Europe and America.

COVID-19 long

There is growing global concern about so-called “long-term” COVID-19, a chronic form of the disease in which people with symptoms experience one or the other for months.

Areli Torres, a 31-year-old Mexican engineer, told AFP that she was ill for a few days last June, but a few months later she is experiencing some symptoms, such as numbness in some parts of her body.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Everything up to now has been suffering. I have already consulted four doctors,” the woman said, adding that it took even a few months to make a correct diagnosis.

The World Health Organization this week called on governments to prioritize understanding the long-term consequences of the infection, as the long-term consequences of the disease affect other areas.



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