Jan 29 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson said its single-dose vaccine was 72% effective in preventing COVID-19 in the United States but a lower rate of 66% was observed globally in the large trial conducted across three continents and against multiple variants.

In the trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection against moderate and severe COVID-19 was just 57% in South Africa, where a particularly worrying variant of the novel coronavirus is circulating.

Following are initial reactions to the study:

Dr. Walid Gellad, a health policy associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh:

“Right now, any protection and additional vaccine is great. The “South Africa” strain is still uncommon in the U.S. and obviously we would want to see higher efficacy, but the key is not only overall efficacy but specifically efficacy against severe disease, hospitalization, and death.

It’s unlikely we’re going to completely eliminate Covid anytime soon, but the key is to make it a minor nuisance instead of a deadly disease.

This is one shot in the arm and good efficacy. Great news.”

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