By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com

ALABAMA — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued "Emergency Use Authorization" for a new single-dose vaccine for COVID-19 from Johnson & Johnson.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), the State of Alabama will receive more than 40,000 doses of the new vaccine this week. This is expected to be a one-time allotment with state officials unsure of when more could be headed this way.

The new vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been authorized for use in individuals over the age of 18. 

“The authorization of this vaccine expands the availability of vaccines, the best medical prevention method for COVID-19, to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “The FDA, through our open and transparent scientific review process, has now authorized three COVID-19 vaccines with the urgency called for during this pandemic, using the agency’s rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine joins vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, both of which require two doses. 

According to a report from NPR, Johnson & Johnson plans to deliver 100 million doses of their vaccine by June and "up to a billion" by the end of the year.

At the time of press, the Alabama Department of Public Health has administered 920,566 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Approximately 617,768 people in the State of Alabama have received one or more doses of vaccine with roughly half of those having completed the vaccine series. More than 1,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to Alabama thus far.