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The EU Commission has approved the corona vaccine from the US company Johnson & Johnson.
"We have just approved the use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine in the EU," said Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday in the short message service Twitter.
The European Medicines Agency EMA had previously given the go-ahead for this.
Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is the fourth corona vaccine to receive EU-wide approval after the active ingredients from Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
The vaccine is around 85 percent effective against severe Covid 19 diseases.
A key benefit of the Johnson & Johnson vector virus vaccine is that only one dose is required.
It can also be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures.
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The vaccine could therefore greatly accelerate vaccination programs in Europe.
"With the amount of cans ordered, we could vaccinate up to 200 million people in the EU," said von der Leyen.
The EU also holds an option for 200 million more doses of the active ingredient.
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In the EU, however, doubts have already arisen as to whether the US company can keep its promises.
Johnson & Johnson is expected to deliver 55 million cans by the end of June.
From EU circles, however, it was reported that the first deliveries were not expected until mid-April at the earliest.
At the end of January, Johnson & Johnson reported an effectiveness of 66 percent for the agent in protecting against moderate to severe Covid-19 courses in its global study with around 44,000 participants.
In preventing hospitalization, the vaccine was 85 percent effective 14 days after vaccination and 100 percent effective at 28 days.
The vaccine is already approved in the US, Canada and Bahrain.
The responsible committee of the EMA had recommended conditional approval of the vaccine for people aged 18 and over.