European Commission Conditionally Approves J&J Vaccine

The European Commission (EC) granted Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s COVID-19 vaccine a conditional marketing authorization, giving the 27-member bloc a desperately needed alternative as the region faces serious supply delays for previously authorized shots.

The authorization, which immediately followed a positive opinion by the European Medicines Agency earlier in the day, means that distribution of 200 million J&J vaccine doses to EU member states will begin in the second quarter.

The single-dose J&J vaccine “takes us another step closer to achieving our collective goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the adult population by the end of summer,” said the commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen.