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Recently, USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday authorised Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization
About Johnson and Johnson(J&J) COVID vaccine
- Developed by: The J&J vaccine, known as JNJ-78436735 or Ad26.COV2.S., has been developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Belgium-based division of the company, in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston.
- Janssen Biotech Inc is a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson
- Type of Virus for manufacture: The Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine is manufactured using a specific type of virus called adenovirus type 26 (Ad26). The vaccine uses Ad26 to deliver a piece of the DNA, or genetic material, that is used to make the distinctive “spike” protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
- The J&J vaccine is based on the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s genetic instructions for building the spike protein that it uses to enter human cells.
How does J&J vaccine is different from other vaccines?
- But unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which store the instructions in single-stranded RNA, the J&J vaccine uses double-stranded DNA.
- Also, it is adenovirus-based, which is a more rugged type than the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
- DNA is not as fragile as RNA, and the adenovirus’s tough protein coat helps protect the genetic material inside. As a result, the J&J vaccine can be refrigerated for up to three months at 2-8°C.
- Ih other words, the vaccine is set to be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.
- Further, unlike Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca (a variant of which is being manufactured under licence as Covishield by Serum Institute of India) and even the Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) vaccine, the J&J vaccine is given as a single dose.
Source: The Indian Express
