WEBVTT - How Does the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum here. On Friday February, the US

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<v Speaker 1>Food and Drug Administration that is, the FDA released the

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<v Speaker 1>results of its trial of the Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

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<v Speaker 1>The FDA found the vaccine to be safe and effective

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<v Speaker 1>and granted this one dose COVID nineteen vaccine emergency use

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<v Speaker 1>authorization at its advisory panel meeting on Saturday, February. The

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<v Speaker 1>company began shipping three point nine million doses of the

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine across the United States on Monday, March one. So

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<v Speaker 1>how does the Johnson and Johnson vaccine work. This vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>is what's called a viral vector vaccine. To create this vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>the Johnson and Johnson team took a harmless add no

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<v Speaker 1>novirus and replaced a small piece of its genetic code

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<v Speaker 1>with coronavirus genes that are instructions to create the particular

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<v Speaker 1>spike protein that appears on the surface of the viruses

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<v Speaker 1>that caused COVID nineteen. The harmless adnovirus is the titular

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<v Speaker 1>viral vector in this viral vector vaccine. After this modified

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<v Speaker 1>adnovirus is injected into someone's arm, it enters the person's cells.

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<v Speaker 1>The cells then read the genetic instructions needed to make

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<v Speaker 1>the spike protein, and those cells then make and present

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<v Speaker 1>the spike protein on their own surface. The person's immune

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<v Speaker 1>system then notices these foreign proteins and makes antibodies against

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<v Speaker 1>them that will protect the person if they're ever exposed

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<v Speaker 1>to the real harmful virus in the future. The adnovirus

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<v Speaker 1>vector vaccine is safe because the anovirus can't replicate in

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<v Speaker 1>human cells or cause disease, and the spike protein itself

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<v Speaker 1>can't cause COVID nineteen without the rest of the coronavirus.

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<v Speaker 1>This approach isn't new, but Johnsman Johnson used a similar

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<v Speaker 1>method to make It's a Bowl of vaccine, and the

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<v Speaker 1>Astrosenica Oxford COVID nineteen vaccine is also an adnovirus viral

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<v Speaker 1>vector vaccine. But how effective is it. The FDGAS analysis

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<v Speaker 1>found that in the United States, the Johnson and Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>COVID nineteen vaccine was seventy two percent effective at preventing

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<v Speaker 1>all COVID nineteen and eighty six percent effective at preventing

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<v Speaker 1>severe cases of the disease, While there is still a

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<v Speaker 1>chance that a vaccinated person could get sick, This suggests

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<v Speaker 1>that they would be much less likely to need hospitalization

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<v Speaker 1>or to die from COVID nineteen. A similar trial in

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<v Speaker 1>South Africa, where a new and more contagious variant is dominant,

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<v Speaker 1>produced similar results. A researchers found the Johnson and Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine to be slightly less effective at preventing all illness

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<v Speaker 1>there just sixty overall, but was still eighty two percent

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<v Speaker 1>effective at preventing severe disease. The vaccine report also indicates

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<v Speaker 1>that the vaccine protects against other variants from Britain and

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<v Speaker 1>Brazil as well. This is a bit different from the

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<v Speaker 1>Maderna and Fiser vaccines, the most basic difference being that

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<v Speaker 1>the John's and Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>while the Maderna and Fiser vaccines are both mRNA vaccines.

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<v Speaker 1>M RNA or messenger RNA vaccines also use genetic instructions

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<v Speaker 1>from the coronavirus to tell a person cells to make

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<v Speaker 1>that spike protein, but these don't use another virus as

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<v Speaker 1>a vector. There are many practical differences as well. Both

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<v Speaker 1>of the mRNA based vaccines require two shots. The Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>and Johnson vaccine requires only a single dose, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is key when vaccines are in short supply or when

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<v Speaker 1>it may be difficult to get a recipient of the

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<v Speaker 1>first dose of a vaccine to return for a second

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<v Speaker 1>one after a waiting period. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>can also be stored at much warmer temperatures than the

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<v Speaker 1>mr Anda vaccines. The m r Anda vaccines must be

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<v Speaker 1>shipped and stored below freezing or sub zero temperatures, which

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<v Speaker 1>requires a bunch of technical equipment and care. The Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>and Johnson vaccine can be stored for at least three

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<v Speaker 1>months in a regular refrige raider, making it much easier

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<v Speaker 1>to use and distribute. As for efficacy, it's difficult to

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<v Speaker 1>directly compare the Johnson and Johnson vaccine with the mr

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<v Speaker 1>and A vaccines due to differences in how the clinical

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<v Speaker 1>trials were designed. While the Maderna and Visor vaccines are

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<v Speaker 1>reported to be approximately effective at preventing illness from COVID nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>the trials were done over the summer and fall of

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<v Speaker 1>before newer and more contagious variants were circulating widely. The

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<v Speaker 1>Maderna A Visor vaccines might not be as effective against

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<v Speaker 1>the new variants, and Johnson and Johnson trials were completed

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<v Speaker 1>more recently and taken to account the vaccines efficacy against

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<v Speaker 1>these new variants. So given all of this, should you

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<v Speaker 1>choose one vaccine over another. Although the overall efficacy of

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<v Speaker 1>the Maderna and Visor vaccines is reported to be higher

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<v Speaker 1>than the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, you should not wait

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<v Speaker 1>until you have your choice of vaccine, which is likely

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<v Speaker 1>a long way off. Anyway, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>is nearly as good as the m RNA based vaccines

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<v Speaker 1>at preventing serious disease, and that's what really matters. The

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<v Speaker 1>Johnson and Johnson vaccine and other viral vector vaccines like

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<v Speaker 1>the one from Astra Zeneca are particularly important for the

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<v Speaker 1>global vaccinization effort. From public health perspective, it's important to

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<v Speaker 1>have multiple COVID nineteen vaccines, and the Johnson and Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine is a very welcome addition to the vaccine arsenal.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't require a freezer, making it much easier to

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<v Speaker 1>ship in store. It's a one shot vaccine, making logistics

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<v Speaker 1>much easier compared with organizing two doses per person. As

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<v Speaker 1>many people as possible need to be vaccinated as quickly

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<v Speaker 1>as possible to limit the development of new coronavirus variants.

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<v Speaker 1>Having a third authorized vaccine in the United States is

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<v Speaker 1>a big step toward meeting vaccination demand and stopping this pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Maureene iran virologist and Associate

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<v Speaker 1>Professor of biology at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was produced by Tyler Klang. The article was based

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<v Speaker 1>on was republished on how stuff works dot com from

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<v Speaker 1>The Conversation dot com under a Creative Commons license. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts to

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