Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

FDA, CDC, and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup approve Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

On Wednesday, March 3 the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup joined the FDA and CDC in approving the Johnson & Johnson (J&J or Janssen) vaccine.

The Western States Workgroup, comprised of vaccine experts from Washington, California, Oregon and Nevada, has met to review the data and analysis to ensure the safety and efficacy of all FDA-authorized vaccines.

According to the CDC, the J&J/Janssen vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who had no evidence of prior infection 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated. Additionally, the vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick. No one who got COVID-19 at least 4 weeks after receiving the J&J/Janssen vaccine had to be hospitalized. The CDC also notes that early evidence suggests that the J&J/Janssen vaccine might provide protection against asymptomatic infection, which is when a person is infected by the virus that causes COVID-19 but does not get sick.

CDC will continue to provide updates as we learn more about how well the J&J/Janssen vaccine works in real-world conditions.

Click here for the CDC factsheet on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and here for more information on Operation Warp Speed a joint venture of the federal government and U.S. private sector in 2020 to accelerate the testing, supply, development, and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.