‘Once you get above 60% you have an effective vaccine’: El Paso doctor explains vaccine differences
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The U.S. could soon have a new tool in its fight against Covid-19. Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to approve its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine’s efficacy rate is lower than rates reported by Pfizer and Moderna. An El Paso healthcare leader told ABC-7 there might be a simple reason.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has shown to be roughly 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe Covid-19. Pfizer and Moderna have both reported their respective vaccines have efficacy rates above 94%. A vaccine’s efficacy determines how well it will protect an individual from being infected.
Dr. Edward Michelson, the Chair of Emergency Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, offered some perspective on the numbers.
“Really once you get above 60% you have an effective vaccine,” he said. “The best comparison is influenza. We have a flu vaccine that comes out every year. It’s a little bit different each year because know the influenza virus changes from season to season. In most seasons, that vaccine is 40-60% effective.”
Michelson also believes there might be an explanation as to why the efficacy rate is lower than other vaccines already approved.
“I think the reason the J&J is lower is because it was tested more recently, at a time when there are now more variants in circulation,” Michelson said. “The Johnson & Johnson results look different by country.”
He pointed to the fact that countries that saw lower efficacy rates in trials were countries that had more variant circulation.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose and only basic refrigeration. Michelson said these factors make it easier to transport and store and could lead to a faster roll-out in the Borderland if it is approved.
