Data recently released from Johnson & Johnson shows their COVID-19 vaccine to be a powerful weapon in the fight against the pandemic. Some are confused by the excitement when the numbers reported say the vaccine is 66% effective, lower than other vaccines recently granted emergency use authorization.
Dr. Ryan Shelton explains that even those who contracted COVID-19 while taking this particular vaccine did not get seriously ill.
“If the vaccine is 66% effective then that means of those who received it, 66% did not get COVID-19. Of the folks that took the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and did contract COVID-19, 85% were protected against severe disease and 100% were protected against being sick enough to need hospitalization or dying.” (Note this applies 28 days after taking the vaccine, once it’s fully effective.)
“If we’re preventing severe disease then that means if you get COVID-19 it presents like a common cold, an illness most of us can easily weather,” said Dr. Shelton. Tryon Medical Partners is proud to have participated in the clinical trial of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
Learn more in this news report filed by WSOC’s Damany Lewis Jan. 29, 2021.