The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has given the green light Friday to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use authorization in the fight against the coronavirus.
The formal authorization will be this weekend, according to the New York Times Friday.
Shipments of a few million doses could begin as early as Monday.
The J&J vaccine, which would be the third vaccine to be offered in the United States, is only one dose whereas the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are two doses each. The J&J vaccine is considered to be 72 percent effective in the U.S., according to a PBS story, while both Pfizer and Moderna boast about a 90 percent efficacy rate. The J&J vaccine is also easier to store.
Doses could begin to go out as early as next week including in California where Gov. Newsom has said the state could receive about 380,000 doses.
More than 68 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, the number of doses distributed in the country stands at more than 91 million.
A third vaccine is "nothing but good news," Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease doctor, told NBC's "Today" show early Thursday in a USA Today story. "To have two is fine. To have three is absolutely better.”
Earlier this week, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine met the requirements for vaccine approval to fight moderate to severe/critical cases of the virus.
Also on Friday Canada authorized the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for adults.