A vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is effective at preventing Covid-19 with just one shot, trial results have shown.
The company said it is 66 per cent effective at preventing moderate to severe coronavirus infection.
The firm said the jab was 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease and “demonstrated complete protection against Covid-19 related hospitalisation and death, 28 days post-vaccination”.
The single-shot vaccine has been developed by the pharmaceutical arm Janssen.
Paul Stoffels, vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said: “These top line results with a single-shot Covid-19 vaccine candidate represent a promising moment.
“The potential to significantly reduce the burden of severe disease, by providing an effective and well-tolerated vaccine with just one immunisation, is a critical component of the global public health response."
Johnson & Johnson’s long-awaited vaccine appears to protect against Covid-19 with just one shot – but not as strong as some two-shot rivals.
There was some geographic variation in its results.
The vaccine worked better in the US – 72 per cent effective against moderate to severe Covid-19 – compared with 57 per cent in South Africa, where it was up against an easier-to-spread mutated virus.
“Gambling on one dose was certainly worthwhile,” Dr Mathai Mammen, global research chief for J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceutical unit, told The Associated Press.
Three vaccines are approved for use in the UK currently - a vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech, the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab and the Moderna vaccine.
