A coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been shown to be safe and generates an immune response in early studies, promising as research continues.
The results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, come from early studies. More conclusive results on the vaccine’s effectiveness are set to appear in a third phase study, which the company said could be available soon on Wednesday, at the “end of January”.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be a crucial addition to the two vaccines already authorized, in the sense that it would allow more doses to be available and requires only a single injection, rather than those needed for Pfizer and Moderna products.
The results of the first studies published on Wednesday found that all study participants developed neutralizing antibodies against the virus by day 57, and 90 percent had them by day 29.
The vaccine has also been shown to be safe, with some common side effects, such as fatigue and headache.
Paul Stoeffels, the company’s scientific director, told CNBC that the results show that the vaccine provides “durable antibodies” and gives the company “confidence” that it will be extremely effective.
However, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the company had production problems and that a plan for 12 million doses by the end of February may not materialize until April.