Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is far behind in the COVID-19 vaccine competition in the United States.



The New York Times (NYT) in the United States analyzed on the 18th that the Janssen vaccine, which was initially expected with a single dose, did not get a good response in the United States.



In the United States, Janssen's vaccine has so far been vaccinated, accounting for only 11.8 million doses, less than 4% of all vaccinations.



This is because vaccines jointly developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech or US pharmaceutical company Moderna's vaccines are mostly chosen by Americans.



When the Janssen vaccine received emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the end of February this year, it was predicted that it could be a breakthrough for vulnerable groups and people in remote areas in the United States.



This is because Pfizer vaccine or Moderna vaccine requires two doses, but Janssen vaccine is administered only once, and unlike Pfizer vaccine, Janssen vaccine does not require cryogenic refrigeration facilities.



However, several months later, the Janssen vaccine has become a 'bad bastard'.



The New York Times pointed out that the Janssen vaccine failed to win the hearts of Americans after suffering blood clots and production accidents.



On April 13, U.S. health officials recommended discontinuing the vaccine, saying it was reviewing cases of "rare and severe" forms of thrombosis in Janssen vaccine recipients.



After 10 days, it was decided to resume vaccination, saying, "The benefits of the Janssen vaccine outweigh the risks", but Americans' anxiety did not go away.



Only 3.5 million doses of Janssen's vaccine have been administered in the US since US health authorities recommended resumption of vaccination on April 23.



In addition, the US FDA decided this month to discard the Janssen vaccine produced at the Baltimore plant where an accident occurred during vaccine manufacturing.



According to the NYT, there are 60 million doses of vaccine to be discarded.



There is also an analysis that the Janssen vaccine received a vaccine approval later than Pfizer and others, which was a disadvantage.



Andrew C. Anderson, professor of public health at Tulane University in Louisiana, USA, analyzed that the Janssen vaccine was affected by a 'social network effect'.



In the months following the launch of a large-scale COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, most of those vaccinated against Pfizer or Moderna have been given the vaccine, and their friends and family have largely chosen the same vaccine.



In addition, there is an analysis that the value of the Janssen vaccine has declined relatively as the storage method has been improved, such as that the Pfizer vaccine does not require an extremely low-temperature freezer as in the first case.



Pfizer vaccines can be supplied to every corner of the United States and even small towns with low population density.



(Photo = Yonhap News)