Johnson & Johnson vaccine: What you need to know

Vials with a sticker reading "COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only" and a medical syringe are displayed in front of a Johnson & Johnson logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. Photo by REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Johnson & Johnson has submitted its vaccine to the FDA for approval. Unlike the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna, this one is a single shot, doesn’t have to be stored at freezing temperatures, and is less expensive. It also has a lower efficacy rate.

“Among the 30 or 40 vaccines out there that are in clinical use, there's maybe just a couple of others that have hit 90% efficacy or above. It's very, very unusual for that level of efficacy,” says Dr. Edward Jones-Lopez, assistant professor of Medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

He says overall though, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has “no concerning safety signals as of now” and will likely be approved within the next three months.