The Johnson & Johnson vaccine effectively prevents severe coronavirus cases , the United States' top drug regulator said on Wednesday. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement paves the way for an emergency use authorization for the single-shot vaccine, which an independent committee is set to discuss. "The vaccine was effective in preventing COVID-19 using a less restrictive definition of the disease and for more severe disease, including COVID-19 requiring medical intervention, considering all cases starting 14 days after vaccination," the FDA document said. J&J said last month that its vaccine was 66% effective in preventing COVID-19 moderate to severe infections, including the variants detected in South Africa and Brazil. The one-shot jab could become the third vaccine the FDA approves as the US battles the pandemic that killed more than 500,000 of its residents. Watch video 03:18 COVID-19 death toll: What did the US get so wrong? … [Read more...] about Coronavirus digest: J&J vaccine prevents COVID – US regulator