J&J single-dose COVID-19 vaccine gets review from FDA advisory panel

An FDA advisory committee is meeting February 26 to vet the evidence supporting Johnson & Johnson’s application for emergency use authorization of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The panel of independent experts will use the all-day public session to go over trial safety and efficiency data, examine the vaccine’s efficacy against infections linked to new variants, and consider how well the product might curb asymptomatic transmission of the virus. Based on the committee’s recommendation at the end of the day, FDA could make a decision on approval as early as Saturday. The regulator’s own review found the vaccine to be 66% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19 infection and even more robust in preventing severe cases.