Infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh Adalja argues the J&J vaccine is ‘logistically’ much easier to give and there could be emergency use authorization by the end of February, 2021.

Johnson & Johnson submitted its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate for emergency use authorization to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday calling it a “pivotal step forward” to “putting an end to the pandemic.”

The move by the pharmaceutical giant comes after it released data last week showing it was about 72% effective in the U.S. protecting against the virus. If approved it would be the third vaccine authorized in the U.S. following Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna which received authorization in December.

“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,” Johnson & Johnson chief scientific officer and vice-chairman Paul Stoffels, M.D., said in a statement Thursday.

Once authorized, the vaccine is “ready to begin shipping,” stated Stoffels who added that the company in conjunction with health authorities around the world “are working with great urgency to make our investigational vaccine available to the public as quickly as possible.”

Johnson & Johnson has previously said it expects to supply 100 million doses to the U.S. by June.

If authorized, the vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at -4 degrees Fahrenheit, or -20 degrees Celsius, and in most standard refrigerators at temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit for at least three months.