By: Megan Talley 3/5/21
PENNSYLVANIA - Last weekend, the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use by the FDA. With nearly four million doses being sent across the country, more people will now be able to gain access to a vaccine seeing low supply and high demand and frustration.
With this new vaccine hitting the stage, confusion comes about how effective it is compared to the other two vaccines available from Pfizer and Moderna. When taking an in-depth look, Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines have over 90% effectiveness with two shots given in a three to four week period. Johnson & Johnson’s comes as the only single dose shot available, with a 66% efficacy over moderate illness, and 85% against severe disease.
But, with making and testing each of these vaccines vastly different, rest assured it is still a viable option to get us one step closer to ending the pandemic.
“What vaccine is better than the other vaccine? In order to be able to determine that you would have to compare them head to head. This was not done,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci. “We have three highly efficacious vaccines that also as Dr. Walensky says has a very good safety profile.”
And with about 94,000 doses coming to Pennsylvania this week, Governor Tom Wolf and his COVID-19 Task Force plan on opening up access to the state’s educators and school staff.
“Vaccinations are just one more layer of protection,” explains Governor Wolf. “It’s important we continue to wear masks and social distance in our schools. Schools are an integral part of our communities, an all of us are proud to stand with our teachers, families, and students to make them safer. It’ll take the burden off of those families and make the schools go back to the business of teaching our kids, which is exactly the way it should be.”
The Department of Health will be teaming up with the PA National Guard to create mass vaccination sites, including one at the U-Haul building (former K-Mart) on Walnut Bottom Road in Carlisle.
Wolf hopes to start this operation late next week.