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Next Question: Will we be forced to choose a less effective vaccine?

The one-shot COVID vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is less effective at preventing moderate cases of infection. Should you hold out for one of the others?

DENVER — With choices growing as more options come on the market, some people have asked if they can shop for a COVID vaccine, effectively picking which one they want.

Specifically, John Schulz from Fort Collins wrote to Next with Kyle Clark to ask:

Will we be forced to accept the less effective Johnson & Johnson vaccine or be sent to the back of the line in order to choose the more effective Pfizer or Moderna vaccine?

Data provided by the company found that the vaccine was 66% effective in preventing moderate cases of the virus. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have efficacy rates in the 90s.

Dr. Richard Zane with UCHealth said those are not the statistics you should pay attention to.

“We see 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death (with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine) and 85% effective at preventing severe disease,” Zane said. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an awesome vaccine. It is unequivocally effective, and from a medical perspective they are indistinguishable.”

RELATED: Johnson & Johnson asks US regulators to OK its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine

RELATED: VERIFY: Yes, you should still get a vaccine if you've already had COVID-19

Anyone is welcome to sign up for a list with a particular provider to get one of the other vaccines. Zane, however, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment are working on talking points to make sure people feel comfortable with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“From the perspective of being a patient I would strongly encourage people to get the first vaccine that they can get,” he said. “If you get the chance to get it, get it. I would.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still waiting on emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

Have a question about something you'd like Next to answer? Email Next@9NEWS.com.

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