FDA authorizes J&J COVID vaccine after unanimous vote [Updated]

Enlarge / A sign at the Johnson & Johnson campus on August 26, 2019 in Irvine, California. (credit: Getty | Mario Tama)

UPDATE, February 27, 2021 7:20 pm EST: The US Food and Drug Administration on Saturday evening granted emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is the third authorized in the US and the first to require only a single shot, which can be shipped at refrigerator temperatures.

The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States," acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in an announcement.

The vaccine uses a non-replicating adenovirus (Ad26)-a type of virus that causes common colds-to deliver the genetic blueprints of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to cells. The FDA authorized it for use in people ages 18 and older.

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