EMA clears Leiden vaccine for use, NL has ordered 11 million doses

The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency has cleared the coronavirus vaccine developed by Leiden based pharmaceuticals company Janssen for general use on adults.

The Netherlands has ordered 11.3 million doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, of which some three million doses are slated for delivery in the second quarter of the year.

The vaccine is the fourth to be approved by the EMA, following backing for the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca versions. Unlike these vaccines, the Janssen vaccine can be kept in an ordinary fridge.

Two weeks after the jab, the vaccine has an efficacy of 67%, the Dutch medicine body CBG said. It prevents 85% of serious illnesses and a 100% record on preventing death.

The side effects in the study were usually mild or moderate and cleared within a couple of days after vaccination, the EMA said. The most common ones were pain at the injection site, headache, tiredness, muscle pain and nausea.

The vaccine is already being used in the US, where it was approved earlier.

Thrombosis

The approval for fast track release comes on the same day as Denmark said it would stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine because of a potential link with thrombosis.

The EMA has already said it considers a link to be unlikely but is due to make a second statement later on Thursday afternoon.