The Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) donated by the US government will be used exclusively to inoculate the country’s elderly population, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

The DOH made that decision as it observed that the country’s elderly population “continue to be at risk of severe Covid-19 or hospitalization.”

Over the weekend, the Philippines received a total of 3.2 million single-dose J&J vaccines coursed by the US government through the COVAX initiative of the World Health Organization.

The DOH issued a communication on July 16 advising government hospitals to prepare versus a surge in the Covid-19 cases fuelled by new variants, and that the J&J single-shot vaccine are “to be used solely on A2 to prevent hospitalization and deaths.” The A2 group is composed of senior citizens.

Earlier, the DOH said the vaccine is 67 percent effective against moderate to severe cases, and 77 percent to 85 percent effective in preventing severe to critical infections.

The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization recommends the use of the J&J jab as one dose (0.5 milliliter).

There should be a minimum interval of 14 days between the administration of the Janssen vaccine and other vaccines against other health conditions.