Europe Authorizes 4th COVID-19 Vaccine

The European Commission issued a conditional marketing authorization for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, on March 11, 2021.

This authorization follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness, and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency and is endorsed by the Member States.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, commented in a press statement, "The Janssen vaccine is the fourth authorized vaccine of the EU's portfolio and will help us enhance the vaccination campaign in the second quarter of 2021."

"It only requires a single dose, which takes us another step closer to achieving our collective goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population by the end of summer."

The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is based on an adenovirus, a harmless virus that delivers the ‘instructions' from the virus that causes COVID-19. This allows the body's own cells to make the protein unique to the COVID-19 virus. The person's immune system recognizes that this unique protein should not be in the body and responds by producing natural defenses against infection by COVID-19.

The adenovirus in the vaccine cannot reproduce and does not cause disease.

The European Commission plays an active role in developing the EU's overall strategy and in designing and implementing EU policies. It evaluates and reports on its policies on a regular basis.