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Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine: Overview and Safety
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Guidance for people who are immunocompromised
General Information
Manufacturer: Janssen Pharmaceuticals Companies of Johnson & Johnson
Number of Shots: 1 shot may be given in some situations.
People ages 18 years and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine should get a second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna).
Booster Shot: Everyone ages 18 years and older should get a booster. Some people can also choose to receive a second booster.
Type of Vaccine: Viral Vector
How Given: Shot in the muscle of the upper arm
Does NOT Contain: Eggs, preservatives, latex, or metals
See full list of ingredients
Name: JNJ-78436735
In most situations, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for primary and booster vaccination due to the risk of serious adverse events. Vaccine recipients must be informed of the risks and benefits of J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccination. The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine may be considered in some situations, including for persons who:
- Had a severe reaction after an mRNA vaccine dose or who have a severe allergy to an ingredient of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (mRNA COVID-19 vaccines).
- Would otherwise remain unvaccinated for COVID-19 due to limited access to Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna (mRNA COVID-19 vaccines).
- Wants to get the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine despite the safety concerns.
Learn more about the considerations for J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
Safety Data Summary
In most situations, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are preferred over the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for primary and booster vaccination due to the risk of serious adverse events.
- There is a plausible causal relationship between J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and a rare and serious adverse event—blood clots with low platelets (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS).
- It occurs at a rate of about 3.83 cases per million Janssen doses and has resulted in deaths.
- Read about the latest updates on J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
Learn more about vaccine safety monitoring after a vaccine is authorized or approved for use.
How Well the Vaccine Works
- The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in people who received the vaccine and had no evidence of being previously infected. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.
- In the clinical trials, the vaccine had high efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in people who did get sick.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredients
The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine contains a piece of a modified virus that is not the virus that causes COVID-19. This modified virus is called the vector virus. The vector virus cannot reproduce itself, so it cannot cause COVID-19. This vector virus gives instructions to cells in the body to create an immune response. This response helps protect you from getting sick with COVID-19 in the future. After the body produces an immune response, it gets rid of all of the vaccine ingredients just as it would discard any information that cells no longer need. This process is a part of normal body functioning.
All COVID-19 vaccines are manufactured with as few ingredients as possible and with only the necessary amounts of each ingredient. Nearly all of the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are also the ingredients in many foods – fats, sugars, and salts. Each ingredient in the vaccine serves a specific purpose as seen in the table below.
Full list of ingredients
The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine contains the following ingredients:
Ingredients that are NOT used in COVID-19 vaccines
The above table lists ALL ingredients in the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. There are NO ingredients in this vaccine beyond what is listed in that table. The J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine has:
- No preservatives like thimerosal or mercury or any other preservatives.
- No antibiotics like sulfonamide or any other antibiotics.
- No medicines or therapeutics like ivermectin or any other medications.
- No tissues like aborted fetal cells, gelatin, or any materials from any animal.
- No food proteins like eggs or egg products, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, nut products, or any nut byproducts (COVID-19 vaccines are not manufactured in facilities that produce food products).
- No metals like iron, nickel, cobalt, titanium, rare earth alloys, or any manufactured products like microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes or other nanostructures, or nanowire semiconductors.
- No latex. The vial stoppers used to hold the vaccine also do not contain latex.
For Healthcare Workers
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine: General information, schedule, and administration overview.