It is also arriving in Italy in the coming days and could give a decisive boost to the national vaccination campaign in search of a shot to defeat Covid-19. It is single-dose and therefore does not require a booster, an advantage that currently distinguishes it from all other approved vaccines; it can be kept in the fridge without freezing, a feature that makes it suitable for administration in pharmacies; how AstraZeneca is a viral vector; it is suitable for ages 18 and up.
We are talking about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, whose first 184 thousand doses of the 400-500 thousand expected by the end of April will arrive in Italy next week. Hoping that the delays in deliveries accused by AstraZeneca will not be repeated. The J&J vials should land between Tuesday and Wednesday at the Defense hub at Pratica di Mare airport, along with 175,000 doses of Astrazeneca. J&J is the fourth vaccine available in our country after Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency (Ema) on 11 March and by the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) the day after.
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The effectiveness
The technical-scientific commission of Aifa has confirmed the evaluation of the EMA on the efficacy of the vaccine. In general, its effectiveness in preventing Covid is around 66% in the trials conducted on 44 thousand people, while it drops to 57% for the South African variant of Covid. The Pfizer vaccine, by way of comparison, has an efficacy of 95%, that of Moderna by 94%, that of AstraZeneca by 59.5%.
Therefore, the mRna drugs are confirmed to be more effective in preventing positivity but the viral ones have a similar ability to avoid severe forms of infection. In fact, the J&J vaccine can prevent severe forms of Covid up to 77% after 14 days from administration and at least 85% after 28 days. The data showed that no decline in efficacy was noted in subjects over 65.
The very rare cases of thrombosis
In recent days, the EMA, after four thromboembolic events in those who received the anti-Covid vaccine in the US, has started a review to evaluate the reports. According to the American authorities, no proven link has been found between the vaccine and thrombosis. In the US there are already 5 million people who have received it.