By end-August 2021, 14 million Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine. This is a little over 8% of the 170.8 million Americans who are fully vaccinated, the rest having received a Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine.
In early August 2021, the South African government released data showing that against the delta variant, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine provides 65% to 66% protection against hospitalization and 91% to 95% protection against death. This lower efficacy against delta means some fully vaccinated individuals will get infected. But of those that do, less than 0.1% will require hospitalization or face death.
The CDC determined that the benefits of these vaccines far outweigh the risks.
On Aug. 22, 2021, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that Johnson & Johnson recipients will “likely need a booster.” The CDC determined that the benefits of these vaccines far outweigh the risks.
