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Johnson & Johnson Asks U.S. Regulators to Approve World-First One-Shot Coronavirus Vaccine

If approved, it would massively boost vaccine supply and take away part of the huge logistical challenge of injecting every person twice.

The coronavirus vaccine rollout in the United States might be about to get much less complicated. Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve its vaccine—the first one in the world to only require one shot, rather than a double dose. If approved, it would massively boost vaccine supply and take away part of the huge logistical challenge of injecting every person twice. It can also be stored in a standard refrigerator, rather than in ultra-cold storage like some other vaccines. J&J’s request comes after it published a report last week in which it said the vaccine had a 66 percent rate of preventing infections—lower than the approved double-shot vaccines, but still high enough to be considered effective. The U.S. has already agreed to pay $1 billion for 100 million doses of the J&J shot, and has the option to buy 200 million more.