Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine against COVID-19 will begin to be applied next week in Mexico. It is the seventh immunization against the coronavirus approved in the Latin American country.
Here’s what we know about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, including its side effects, its manufacture, and its effectiveness.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Mexico
The vaccine from Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson affiliate, was approved by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) on Thursday, May 27.
With this authorization for emergency use, it is certified that the vaccine, which is a single dose, meets the quality, safety and efficacy requirements to be applied in the country. In Mexico, phase 3 studies of this drug were conducted.
In a statement, the agency reported that the Committee for New Molecules – in charge of approval – met on May 7, 2021 to analyze the use of this vaccine, which received a unanimous favorable opinion from the experts and the experts.
Last week, the United States government announced that it would send one million doses of this vaccine to Mexico. These injections, along with others to be purchased by the Mexican government, will be applied to people between 18 and 39 years old in the municipalities of the northern border of Mexico.
The objective is to allow the reopening of the border between Mexico and the United States, assures the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard. The first doses are expected to arrive on the weekend.
“The objective is that by the end of June we have this population covered and then we can agree with the United States to reopen activities at the border,” said Ebrard.
Who can get vaccinated and who can’t?
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Coferpis recommend this vaccine for everyone over 18 years of age. So far, the vaccine has not been approved for use by children under 15 years of age, as has been the case with the Pfizer vaccine.
Who is not recommended for?
The CDC indicates that people who have had a severe allergic reaction – requiring treatment with epinephrine or medical attention – or an immediate allergic reaction – within the first four hours of exposure – even if it was not severe, to any of the ingredients of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
If someone cannot receive this COVID-19 vaccine, they may receive a different type of vaccine, at least in the United States.
What are the side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?
Side effects such as pain, redness, or swelling may occur on the arm where the vaccine is given. In the rest of the body, there may be tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea.
These side effects appear a day or two after receiving the vaccine. “They are normal signs that your body is generating protection and should go away in a few days,” says the CDC.
After receiving any vaccine, fainting can also occur. Although they are rare, these events are not unexpected and are not usually serious.
The CDC noted that 653 fainting spells were reported among the nearly 8 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines administered in the United States between March and April. That is, there were eight fainting spells for every 100,000 vaccinated. It is not clear if these events are related to the vaccine or to anxiety states,
And the clots?
US and European authorities also advised that women under 50 years of age should be aware of the rare risk of blood clots with low platelet counts after vaccination.
Janssen’s vaccine was linked to some cases of a rare cerebral thrombosis, the result of an exaggerated immune reaction. But the health authorities valued that its benefits were much greater than its risks, so they recommended continuing with its application.
These pathologies occur together with a drop in the level of blood platelets, so that at the same time as blood clots, the patient can suffer bleeding.
“The treatment of this particular type of blood clot is different from what would normally be administered,” warn the US health authorities, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC.
These problems could be related to the “viral vector” technique. This is based on taking as support another virus, which is modified so that it carries genetic information in the body capable of fighting COVID-19.
Both use an adenovirus, a very common type of virus. J & J’s is a human adenovirus. “Everything indicates that it is due to the adenovirus vector,” explained Twitter Mathieu Molimard, a French pharmacology specialist in April.
Several elements point to an excessive immune reaction caused by these vaccines, a “plausible explanation”, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
What is its effectiveness?
The vaccine is a viral vector and showed 66.3% effectiveness in clinical trials to prevent COVID-19 disease. According to the results, people achieved the maximum possible protection two weeks after receiving the injection.
The formula was highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death of people who contracted the disease. None of those who contracted COVID-19, at least 4 weeks after receiving the J & J / Janssen vaccine, had to be hospitalized.
The US CDC details that initial evidence suggests that the Janssen vaccine could provide protection against asymptomatic infection, which occurs when a person is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, but does not become ill.
Recommended dosage
The vaccine is a single dose. It is the second single-dose immunization applied in Mexico, after the CanSino vaccine.
Where it is?
The doses of the Janssen vaccine that will arrive in Mexico are produced in the United States. The vaccine is also produced at the facilities of the Merck pharmaceutical company, in order to increase production.
Johnson & Johnson is based in New Jersey. The company received 100 million from the sale of its one-dose vaccine against COVID-19 since its authorization in February, according to its results report for the first quarter of 2021.
