The J&J/Janssen vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who had no evidence of prior infection 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.

Skepticism about vaccines in general and specifically how quickly the COVID-19 vaccines have been developed have some taking a cautious view of the shots that could bring an end to the pandemic, according to Louisville-area physicians.

“Patients often ask ‘are you going to get it?’,” said Steven Patton M.D., a family medicine physician with Norton Community Medical Associates – Preston. His answer is, “Of course.”

But he recognizes that many don’t understand how it went through development and clinical trials so fast.

“I think that’s a lot of the hesitance. A lot of people are talking about that,” Dr. Patton said

Dr. Patton notes that during a normal drug development effort, the drug makers don’t share information while working independently.

“Whereas this one, we were able to get the strain of the virus quickly, and then we were able to share our data of what we’ve learned from each other,” he said.

COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.