The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is planned to be introduced to Georgia at the end of October, said the head of the National Technical Group of Immunization Consultants and medical director of the Iashvili Children's Central Hospital Ivane Chkhaidze.

The drug, developed by the American company Johnson & Johnson / Janssen, is recognised by the World Health Organization as safe and effective in protecting people from the most serious risks associated with COVID-19, including death, hospitalisation, and severe illness.

“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is due no later than October, but this is so soon that I don’t think it will significantly affect the vaccination process. We are talking only about 50,000 doses, which means 50,000 vaccinated. This vaccine has one advantage, which is one-time vaccination," Chkhaidze said on the air of the Rustavi 2 TV company.

Janssen is approved by the relevant EU agency and the European Commission and is approved for use in the United States. The vaccine has passed the examination of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and the US Food and Drug Administration.

At the same time, one vaccination is enough for the appearance of immunity, and not two, as is the case with other vaccines.

Unlike BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, J&J is a vector vaccine based on the common cold virus. It can also be stored in a conventional refrigerator.

In the third phase of clinical trials, was attended by 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil, South Africa, showed that the J&J vaccine is equally effective in the elderly and young people. Moreover, a third of the subjects were over 60 years old. No deaths or hospitalisations have been reported since vaccination.

Currently, the Sinopharm, Sinovac, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca vaccines are available in Georgia.

Mass vaccination in Georgia began on July 5. According to the latest data, 1,610,309 vaccinations were carried out in Georgia. Of these, 935 094 people were vaccinated with one dose and 675 215 were fully vaccinated with two doses.