Along with preventing additional hospitalizations and loss of life, the authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could help put America on its return to a degree of normalcy.
"Herd immunity is a population concept, so whatever limits transmission of the virus in the population is what matters," Vincent Racaniello, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, told."Right now, there is little evidence that one [Pfizer or Moderna] vaccine dose can limit virus transmission in the population."
The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Friday. Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center investigational pharmacy technician Sara Berech is reflected in the glass of a fume hood as she prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for a clinical trial on December 15 in Aurora, Colorado.
About 14 percent of Americans received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but only 6.5 percent of Americans have received both, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Without Johnson & Johnson's single-dose shot, America's current rate of vaccinations would mean the country wouldn't reach herd immunity until the end of November or early December.
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