we have a ton of developments today in the coronavirus vaccine situation. what we do know is encouraging in many waysramping up vaccine production. what we don t know about the effectiveness is terrifying. it makes you wonder if the u.s. needs to dramatically rethink the current vaccine distribution strategy. let s start with the good news. today johnson and johnson leased some promising data from its phase three clinical trials. the vaccine is 72% effective in the u.s. at preventing moderate to severe illness. experts consider that a strong level of protection. here is the potential worrying news. the company disclosed the data suggests the vaccine was less effective against the south africa covid variant we have been dropping. effectiveness dropped from 72% to 57%. it s called that because it was south africa was the first place it was found which is more contagious and resistant to the vaccines we have. it s already in the united states and appears to be spreading. the mor
emergency use authorization next week. but there is a caveat, the efficacy of the j & j s vaccine dropped 57% from the highly contagious variant from south africa. despite the travel van to stop that variant from coming over here, the new variant is already here. two cases identified this week in south carolina with two patients with no ties to each other and no travel history given that, signals community spread. during today s white house briefing dr. anthony fauci stressed the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, before those mutant strains get out of control. whether or not that s going to ultimately take over in the sense of being dominant is unclear by now. the projection that is made with regard to the uk is that probably by the end of march, the beginning of april, it actually will become more dominant in this country. the fundamental principle of getting people vaccinated as quickly and as efficiently as you possible can wil