Anthony Fauci, MD, the White House's health adviser, said Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine will be useful in the fight against the virus despite its efficacy rate being lower than Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines, The Hill reported.
Johnson & Johnson reported Jan. 29 that its vaccine is 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 cases. Moderna and Pfizer have both reported efficacy rates around 95 percent.
"This is actually good news. It’s value added to the whole effort of getting more vaccine candidates into the mix," Dr. Fauci told NBC News.
Johnson & Johnson's shot had a 72 percent efficacy rate in the U.S., but that number fell to 57 percent in South Africa, where a variant of the coronavirus, known as B.1.351, has become the dominant strain, the drugmaker reported.
The shot was 85 percent effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and 100 percent effective at preventing hospitalization or death starting 28 days after vaccination, The Hill reported.
"The important point is that the protection against severe disease was very high, even in South Africa, where the mutant is dominant," Dr. Fauci said, according to The Hill. "From a practical standpoint, from what you want to do to keep people out of the hospital and prevent death, this is a value added."
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