Nurse administers vaccine. Nurse administers vaccine.
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Health Canada approves Johnson and Johnson shot against COVID-19

Health Canada has now approved a fourth vaccine against COVID-19, the Janssen shot made by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson.

The announcement was made Friday morning by  Doctor Supriya Sharma, Health Canada's Chief Medical Advisor.

"Although this process was completed in a shorter time frame, Health Canada's rigorous review standards were upheld," said Sharma. The same review process was used for the other three vaccines approved for use in Canada.

The Janssen vaccine is available in one dose, and a study involving patients on three continents showed it was 85 per cent effective in preventing severe COVID-19 illness and death.

Health Canada has authorized its use for adults 18 and older, and unlike AstraZeneca, there was no change in effacacy for adults over the age of 65.

The agency has also authorized a clinical trial in children aged 12 to 17.

The innoculation is an adenovector-based vaccine, similar to the AstraZeneca one approved last week by Health Canada. Adenovectors have been used for gene therapy and cancer treatments since the 1970s and are created by using a genetically-manipulated version of the virus..

The other advantage of this vaccine is that it can be stored in a regular refrigerator. Sharma told reporters it can be kept at temperatures between 2 and 8 C for up to three months, allowing for easy transportation of doses from site to site.

The U.S. approved it last week.

Common side effects include chills, muscle pain, tenderness at the injection site, and headache. The side effects were mild to moderate in severity and resolved within a few days.

Canada pre-ordered 10-million doses with the option of order another 28-million.

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