On the fourth day of vaccination, it is progressing smoothly without any major side effects. In the meantime, the Janssen vaccine, which is expected to enter Korea in the second quarter, received final approval in the United States. When the domestic approval process is completed, it is expected that we will be able to vaccinate from next month.
This is reporter Kim Hyung-rae.
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The CDC of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally approved Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccination.
Janssen is the third licensed vaccine in the United States after Pfizer and Modena.
Janssen vaccine, like AstraZeneca, can be stored at room temperature between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.
Also, it is the only one of the five vaccines that have been confirmed to be introduced in Korea.
[김정기/고려대학교 약학과 교수 : (다른 백신들은) 최고의 면역력을 얻어내기 위해서는 2회 접종까지 마무리해야 합니다. 얀센 같은 경우는 1회 접종만 하다 보니까, 일단은 접종 속도가 빠르다는 부분이 있겠죠.]
In the results of phase 3 clinical trials conducted in eight countries including the United States and South Africa, the overall preventive effect was 66%, which was lower than that of Pfizer and Modena, but the effect of preventing severe diseases was relatively high, at 85%.
The part that achieved this effect with one inoculation is evaluated as an advantage.
In particular, about 57% of the South African mutant virus was more effective than AstraZeneca, which was only 22%.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety initiated a permit review for Janssen on the 27th of last month, and the results are expected to come out around the beginning of next month, considering that AstraZeneca took about 6 weeks from application to final approval.
The government has pre-purchased 6 million Janssen vaccines and will be introduced sequentially from the second quarter. If approved as scheduled, the vaccine will be available in April.