Johnson & Johnson, Novavax report promising results of COVID-19 vaccines

*Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson has said its COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 72 percent effective in preventing the virus during trial in the United States, whereas Novavax reports its trials in the United Kingdom have shown its Coronavirus vaccine is 89 percent effective

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

With 72 percent effective in clinical trial, Johnson & Johnson has reported the results of its Phase 3 clinical trial of its Coronavirus (COVID-19) single-dose vaccine candidate.

ConsumerConnect gathered the drugmaker stated the COVID-19 vaccine was 72 percent effective in preventing the virus during the trial in the United States (US).

While that is less than the 95 percent rate achieved by Moderna and Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson yet stated its single-dose vaccine was 85 percent effective at preventing severe COVID-19 illnesses.

The company said the COVID-19 vaccine candidate demonstrated “complete protection against COVID-related hospitalisation and death, 28 days post-vaccination,” as it noted the results represent “a promising moment.”

Likewise, drugmaker Novavax reports that its trials in the United Kingdom (UK) have shown its Coronavirus vaccine to be more than 89 percent effective.

Even more encouraging, the company says it was effective against the new strain of the virus first identified last month in the U.K.

The vaccine, produced at a plant in England, is expected to be widely used in the U.K. once health officials there clear it for use, agency report stated.

However, government officials say it may not be widely distributed until the second half of 2021.

Report indicates vaccines appear to be safe thus far, as over 22 million Americans have been vaccinated against the raging Coronavirus, and government health officials have disclosed the results suggest that the vaccines from Pfizer and from Moderna appear to be safe.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there had been a few allergic reactions, but everyone who experienced one had been treated successfully and no other serious problems.

Most people receiving the shots have reported at least some side effects. About 70 percent of people who self-reported side effects said they suffered some pain at the point of injection, according to report.

In terms of economic toll of the damaging COVID-19 in the US, for instance, the pandemic has not only killed over 433,622 people in the country, but it has also caused widespread socio-economic dislocations.

Businesses have closed and millions of people are unemployed, report stated.

The Commerce Department reported in the week that the pandemic caused the US economy to shrink by 3.5 percent in 2020, its worst showing since 1946.

Brian Deese, Head of the White House National Economic Council, said the report underscores the need for more stimulus.

Deese noted: “Without swift action, we risk a continued economic crisis that will make it harder for Americans to return to work and get on back their feet.

“The cost of inaction is too high,” particularly in Arizona, California, and South Carolina respectively, according the CDC information.

Meanwhile, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed the total US confirmed cases as of January 29, 2021, were 25,789,000 with an aggregate of 433,622 deaths.

Globally the total Coronavirus cases stood at 101,636,470 with and 2,194,790 deaths worldwide, according to the report.

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