Johnson & Johnson applies for emergency use authorization with FDA for possible third vaccine option for Americans

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) reportedly submitted an application with the FDA Thursday for authorization of emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine, NBC News reports.

If the authorization is granted, J&J's vaccine would supply a third option for Americans to vaccinate themselves against COVID-19. The FDA is reportedly expected to grant the authorization within the coming weeks.  

"Today's submission for emergency use authorization of our investigational single-shot Covid-19 vaccine is a pivotal step toward reducing the burden of disease for people globally and putting an end to the pandemic," the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Paul Stoffels, said in a press release.

Stoffels said that if the authorization were approved, J&J would be ready to begin shipping vaccines immediately. The company previously said it would be able to provide 100 million doses of the vaccine by June, according to NBC News.

A key way in which the J&J vaccine is superior to Pfizer and Moderna's alternatives is that it only requires one dose to be effective, where as the others require patients to be given two doses.

The J&J vaccine prevented all hospitalizations and deaths after four weeks from when patients received the dose, during phase 3 of its clinical trials, the company reported. The vaccine was 72 percent effective at "preventing moderate to severe disease" in the United States and 85 percent effective globally, according to researchers, NBC reported.