Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday asked US regulators for emergency authorization of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, as Germany raised hopes of a potential easing of virus curbs, offering some encouraging signs in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
If approved, the vaccine would be the third in the hard-hit US. It offers a logistical advantages because it does not require two doses and the deep-freeze storage needed for already approved shots.
However, trials showed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine does not protect as well against a highly transmissible virus variant first identified in South Africa, which is spreading rapidly.
Photo: Reuters
An advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration is set to consider the application on Feb. 26.
Johnson & Johnson said that if its vaccine is authorized it is on track to deliver 100 million doses to the US by the end of June, a major supply of vaccine in a nation of about 320 million people.
The Red Cross launched a campaign to help vaccinate 500 million people in poorer countries, as Iran received its first jabs from Russia.
Pressure is growing on richer countries to help in a global inoculation effort, with Red Cross secretary general Jagan Chapagain warning that the unequal rollout “could backfire to deadly and devastating effect.”
“It could prolong or even worsen this terrible pandemic,” he said, promising to pour more than US$100 million into an effort to distribute vaccines and encourage uptake.
So far, more than 115 million doses have been distributed worldwide, but the vast majority of those doses have gone to richer nations.
Experts warn that vaccines would only control the virus — which has killed more than 2 million people — if the whole world is covered.
Otherwise, people would have to continue living under lockdowns with travel restrictions, curfews and closed businesses.
As the pace of new infections has slowed over the past few weeks, some countries are beginning to consider reopening.
“We can’t stay in this hard lockdown all winter. We would not tolerate that well as a society,” German Minister of Health Jens Spahn told local media.
Wealthy monarchies in the Gulf including Dubai and Saudi Arabia are tightening their containment measures despite the inevitable economic damage.
The WHO has warned against relaxing the rules, with WHO Health Emergencies Program executive director Michael Ryan saying: “The rain has eased but the sun is not out yet.”
As policy debate rages over how best to handle the current phase of the pandemic, the UN’s health agency is investigating the origins of the virus.
“We’re not going to come up with the ultimate full understanding of the origins of this virus, but it will be a good first step,” WHO team member Peter Ben Embarek said.
The team has visited an infectious disease lab in the city of Wuhan, which was accused by some US officials last year of allowing the virus to leak out.
Ben Embarek said that some of the theories surrounding the lab were more like movie plots, and promised to “follow facts” rather than “chasing ghosts.”
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