In Points: Know all about Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine approved in India

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today announced that India has granted US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine an Emergency Use Authorization(EUA).

"India expands its vaccine basket! Johnson and Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is given approval for Emergency Use in India. Now India has 5 EUA vaccines. This will furtherboost our nation's collective fight against," he tweeted.

• A supply agreement with domestic vaccine manufacturer Biological E Limited would bring the vaccine to India.
• Johnson & Johnson stated that this is a significant step toward making their Covid-19 vaccine more widely available to help end the pandemic.
• A statement from Johnson & Johnson's India spokesperson said, “We are pleased to announce that on August 7, 2021, the Government of India issued Emergency Use Authorisation(EUA) for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 single-dose vaccine in India, to prevent Covid-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older."
• In clinical studies, the US pharmaceutical giant claims that its vaccine was 85 per cent effective against serious illness and 66% efficient in avoiding moderate to severe disease.

In addition, the vaccination provided protection against the Delta strain and other developing variants.

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• The most common side-effects of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine, according to the US FDA, are injection site pain (48.6%), headache (39%), fatigue (38.2%), and aches and pains (33.2%).Other adverse effects included a high (in few) to mild fever.
• Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines elicit an immunological response using new messenger RNA technology, and both require two injections. A more conventional technique is usedin the one-shot J&J vaccine, which uses a common cold virus to deliver coronavirus proteins into cells and stimulate an immune response.

• At typical refrigerator temperatures, J&J's vaccine stays stable for at least three months. Meanwhile, the Moderna vaccine must be delivered frozen, and the Pfizer/BioNTech alternativemust be shipped and stored at even colder sub-Arctic conditions.
• With this, India now has five Covid vaccines that have been approved for emergency use. Serum Institute's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, Russia's Sputnik V, and Modernaare the other four.