What’s in Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 Vaccine?

Proven vaccine technologies reveal a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccination

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As vaccines begin to roll out across the United States, a third contender has risen through the ranks as a viable candidate for Covid-19 protection. The Johnson & Johnson AD26.COV2.S vaccine offers strong protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in only a single shot.

With the vaccine inching closer to public availability, this article details the exact ingredients included in each shot.

The basics

The AD26.COV2.S vaccine utilizes adenovirus technology to expose human immune systems to SARS-CoV-2 virus antigens. This is achieved by cloning a copy of DNA that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into a loop of DNA called a plasmid, which is then housed within a modified adenovirus.

Once introduced into the body, the modified adenovirus binds and enters human cells. At this point, the body of the virus essentially disintegrates, allowing the genetic material within to travel into the nucleus of human cells. Once there, native enzymes that transcribe DNA into mRNA take over and start to turn out strips of mRNA that code for the spike proteins. These mRNA strips — called transcripts — are then translated into the spike protein…