How J&J COVID-19 vaccine differs from Pfizer, Moderna

• There are now 3 different COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the US.
• Two are mRNA-based (Pfizer, Moderna), while one is an adenovirus (Johnson & Johnson).
• Dr. Fauci explained how they differ in action, but said “the ultimate end game” is the same. 
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The US now has three authorized vaccines to fight the pandemic: two mRNA options from Pfizer and Moderna, and one adenovirus shot from Johnson & Johnson. 

While it’s true that both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s shots were more effective, overall, than J&J’s in their trials, experts have stressed that all of these vaccines share two very important statistics in common: zero hospitalizations, and zero deaths among fully vaccinated trial participants. 

And when asked which shot might provide people with the best long-term protection from infections, including protection against worrisome new virus variants like B.1.351, leading virus expert Florian Krammer told Insider on Monday:

“There’s little that can be said, for now.” 

But, we do already know there are key differences in the way these two types of vaccines work. 

During a White House COVID-19 briefing on Monday, President Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, laid bare exactly how each shot takes effect.

Shots from Pfizer and Moderna give the body genetic instruction manuals to learn how to fight the coronavirus, safely 

Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines train the body to learn how to fight against COVID-19 by injecting mRNA (messenger RNA) into a person’s deltoid — the rounded muscle that hugs your upper arm and shoulder.

“The mRNA that’s injected into the muscle codes for the spike protein,” as Fauci explained it on Monday.

The coronavirus’s spike protein is what would otherwise allow the virus to latch on to and invade our cells. But the mRNA vaccines train up our bodies to immunologically say, “not so fast.“

“The body sees that [protein] and makes an immune response against that, giving you the protection that has been shown with both of the mRNA vaccines,” Fauci added. 

J&J inserts a harmless cold virus to do the same job