Johnson & Johnson Executive Says Vaccine Works Where It Counts: Preventing Deaths

Dr. Paul Stoffels, the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, told NPR on Friday that the topline results from the company's coronavirus vaccine study fail to tell the full story about just how effective it actually is.

Johnson & Johnson said that 28 days after vaccination, its vaccine is 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19. But Stoffels says that Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is very effective where it matters most: preventing hospitalizations and deaths.

"We showed that there was an 85% efficacy against severe disease and a complete protection against hospitalization and complete protection against death. And that's across all the regions, including in South Africa," he says.

A new coronavirus variant that was first discovered in South Africa has already popped up in the U.S. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was 57% effective in preventing moderate to severe cases in that country, where the variant dominates. But it was still 89% effective in stopping severe disease, hospitalization and death in South Africa, Stoffels says.