The US surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNBC on Wednesday there was reason to hope that people who received the one-off Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine may be protected against the Delta variant of the virus.
Murthy pointed to data showing that the Oxford-AstraZeneca syringe was highly effective against hospitalizations of the more contagious variety. He also said people should consider the AstraZeneca vaccine “a cousin” of J & J’s shot, as it was “built on a similar platform”.
“While we await direct trials of Johnson & Johnson and the Delta variant, we have reason to be hopeful because the J&J vaccine has been shown to be quite effective against hospitalizations and deaths in all of the variants we have seen.” Date, “Murthy told The News with Shepard Smith.”
World Health Organization officials urged fully vaccinated people to continue wearing masks, maintain social distance, and practice other pandemic-related safety measures as the Delta variant spreads around the world.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday that it would be up to state and local health authorities to set guidelines for wearing masks.
Murthy said the CDC’s guidelines were based on giving people flexibility.
“The CDC essentially gave people flexibility and choice in their guidelines, but wanted people to know that the risk of getting or passing this virus is small when fully vaccinated indoors or when fully outdoors required are vaccinated, “said Murthy.
Approved vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson have been shown to be highly effective in preventing Covid, particularly against serious illness and death.
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