Texas is scheduled to receive 24,000 doses of the recently approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, with more on the way.

The state's three FEMA distribution sites—in Arlington, Dallas and Houston—will receive the first shipments, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The Arlington and Dallas sites will receive 6,000 doses apiece, and the Houston site will receive 12,000. Additionally, the state health department will allocate 676,280 first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to 522 providers in the state this week.

DSHS has also been notified that it will receive more than 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as part of next week's allocation, which could include doses being sent to Austin.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Saturday. Federal officials said 4 million doses will be shipped out nationally this week, with an expected 20 million doses to be available by the end of March.

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine was found to be around 66% effective against moderate to severe symptoms 28 days after vaccination in a worldwide study. Although the two previously approved vaccines—from Pfizer and Moderna—are around 95% effective, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine offers significant advantages:

• It is easier to store and ship because it does not require refrigeration
• It only requires one shot, which means the same number of Johnson & Johnson doses can vaccinate twice as many people as Pfizer or Moderna doses
• It has proven to be mostly effective against new strains of the disease, which emerged after the clinical trials for Pfizer and Moderna's candidates

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine "is extremely effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death—the goal with any vaccine—and only requires one dose," a DSHS spokesperson wrote in an email to Austonia.