A global study of nearly 44,000 found that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe disease.
The study was conducted in the U.S., Latin America, and South Africa. The vaccine did better at preventing disease in this country – 72% percent — and less well in South Africa – 57% efficacy. The efficacy seen in Latin America was 66%.
The South African results are troubling because the coronavirus spreading there and that has now been detected in the U.S., raising concerns that the vaccines developed so far might not work as well against it.
The vaccine did demonstrate complete protection against COVID-19 serious enough to require hospitalization, according to a news release from the company. The vaccine was 85% percent effective in preventing severe forms of the disease.
The company says it plans to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization to distribute the vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given as a single shot, unlike the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer that require two shots given weeks apart. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine also doesn't require ultracold storage.
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The mayors of all Monterey Peninsula cities plus Salinas agree that Agricultural workers should be at the top of the list to get vaccinated in the next round of Covid-19 vaccinations. That's in part because those workers are crucial for providing the nation's food supplies, and the local economy....but also because as a group they (and their family members) have some of the highest rates of infections. The mayors have sent a letter to Monterey County officials asking that ag workers be in the next round of vaccinations; and the Grower Shipper Association has formed a partnership with Clinica de Salud to vaccinate 72,000 farmworkers in a handful of drive-through vaccination locations. They also want the county to provide free testing for all returning farmworkers.
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The San Benito County’s Health Department is investigating the San Benito Health Foundation. There have been allegations that the foundation was giving coronavirus vaccines to ineligible people.
Victoria Montoya, the San Benito Foundation secretary, told reporters that the real story is that the San Benito Health Department is not prepared.
“This county is behind,” said Secretary Montoya. “They don't have enough staff to do the job where the clinic has all that's needed and has been doing the right thing.”
She said the rotary members who were vaccinated were people who’ve helped distribute food.
It is not clear how many of the volunteers who received a vaccine were over the age of 65. The San Benito Health Foundation is currently under investigation for allegations of not following the California vaccine distribution plan.
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Cal-Trans crews plan to assess Highway 1 from Big Sur to the San Luus Obispo county line this morning....including the area where debris flow struck a section of the highway, knocking it into the ocean. That portion of Highway 1 is near Rat Creek, south of Esalen. One lane of the highway was washed away, and reportedly the road (and the ground beneath it) is continuing to erode (as the debris and water continue to flow down off the mountains there).
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