US President Joe Biden called emergency use authorisation for a third COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson on Saturday ‘an exciting news’ for all Americans but warned that the fight against the virus is yet not over.

“The approval of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a third vaccine against COVID-19 is exciting news for all Americans and is a motivating development in our effort to bring an end to this crisis,” said a statement issued by White House.

Thanking country’s scientist and citizens, Biden further added that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over and the US should not let its guard down.

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“I urge all Americans to keep washing their hands, stay socially distanced, and keep wearing masks,” Biden said.

The statements came after FDA on Saturday announced that it has officially approved the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine in the US. The vaccine can now be administered to individuals 18 years of age and older.

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Andy Slavitt, the White House Senior for COVID response, also called the development welcome news.

According to AFP, the rollout of millions of doses of the J&J vaccine is reported to reach Americans by early next week.

In large clinical trials, J&J vaccine’s efficacy against severe disease was 85.9% in the United States, 81.7% in South Africa, and 87.6% in Brazil.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 death toll in the US breached the 500,000 mark just days before the J&J vaccine approval.

On the vaccination front, over 65 million people in America have received at least one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines so far.