(Iowa City, IA) -- An infectious disease specialist in Iowa says she's very encouraged that there's a third vaccine to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Patricia Winokur of the University of Iowa College of Medicine is part of the team of Iowa City researchers working on several vaccine trials. Teams are currently gathering data on the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which could be ready for review by the FDA later this spring.

"We know that the key to controlling this pandemic is getting as many people vaccinated as possible. That's going to flatten the curve, that's going to prevent spread from person to person," said Dr. Winokur during Governor Kim Reynolds news conference today (Wednesday).

Dr. Winokur says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has several major advantages, including it's a single dose vaccine, and is more easily stored than others. She says the vaccine is exceptionally good at preventing severe disease and hospitalization. She dispels concerns about the vaccine's effectiveness which is slightly lower than those made by Pfizer and Moderna. Dr. Winokur says the flu vaccine is typically about 70-percent effective which she says is outstanding, and that makes a tremendous difference in long term care facilities.

Dr. Winokur also stresses the vaccines are safe and extremely effective, and anyone who can get a vaccine, should do so when it's available, and continue to to take other protective measures against the virus.

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