Distribution of Johnson & Johnson one-dose COVID-19 shot should help speed vaccination rates

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Jernej Furman (Flickr)

Johnson & Johnson company website page logo on laptop display with red background

Ivana Venema-Nunez, Reporter

As of Saturday, Arizona was ranked 18th in the nation in average daily COVID-19 case numbers over the last seven days, according to the Center for Disease Control data tracker. The state is  ranked sixth in death rate since the pandemic began, reporting 219 deaths per 100,000 people as of Tuesday.

Arizona COVID-19 reports show a decline in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations, similar to the numbers that  CDC reported nationally in November.  

As the trends have gone down from January’s high in reported COVID-19 cases, Johnson & Johnson distributed its vaccine on Sunday, adding to the other two, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, according to Az Central’s update thread.

The U.S Food and Drug Administration authorized J&J one-dose vaccine for public use which means it will become available to help protect 100 million people.

According to Biden administration officials, almost 4 million doses will be initially distributed evenly throughout the states.

The one-dose method will speed up the vaccination process by eliminating the need for patients to receive two injections over a period of time before they are fully protected, according to Az Central update thread.

Since December, almost 50 million Americans have been vaccinated.