Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine should be available next week in Florida, Gov. DeSantis says

Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine could be available as soon as next week in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced during a news conference Wednesday.

“If all goes to plan you should start to see Johnson & Johnson some time next week. That’s the plan that they’re going to do,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said the vaccine’s clinical trials were “very effective in preventing hospitalization and mortality.”

READ: Coronavirus: Johnson & Johnson vaccine has ‘favorable safety profile,’ FDA briefing documents say

“They’re going to start shipping it either this weekend or next week. I don’t know how much we are going to get now. We are hearing conflicting reports,” he said.

The governor said he is working to figure out how the state will distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine once it becomes available.

READ: Here’s where to find the COVID-19 vaccine in your county

In briefing documents released Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the vaccine has a “favorable safety profile with no specific safety concerns.”

READ: Lyft to provide seniors ride to COVID-19 vaccination sites: Here’s how it works

Members of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss emergency-use authorization of the one-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

The news that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was less effective as the two shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines was seen as a let down by some, but scientists and doctors alike say vaccines shoot for 50% effectiveness and this vaccine goes beyond the mark.

Johnson & Johnson said they will possibly have 4 million doses ready to ship immediately after approval and 20 million doses produced by the end of March.

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Cox Media Group