Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine could receive emergency authorization from the FDA later this week, and Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah is trying to allay any concerns that the vaccine is less effective than Pfizer’s or Moderna’s.
“This vaccine was found to offer complete protection. A 100% reduction against both COVID-related hospitalizations as well as COVID-related deaths,” he says. “It’s not vaccine against vaccine. It’s vaccine against virus.”
Shah says clinical trials for each vaccine were conducted with different criteria, but that all three vaccines are effective in preventing severe illness and death. if Johnson and Johnson’s receives authorization, he says people shouldn’t hesitate to get it.
