The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is discussing whether to grant emergency use authorization for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

During similar requests by Pfizer and Moderna, the FDA authorized those companies' vaccinations a day after the committee of outside medical advisors backed emergency use authorization. If J&J's follows the pattern, a third vaccine could be authorized tomorrow.

News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Dr. Thomas McGinn to discuss the vaccine. Dr. McGinn is the executive vice president of physician enterprise at CommonSpirit Health.

We know the committee is looking at the data from the clinical trials. There are no specific safety concerns of the vaccine that were identified when analyzed by age, race and comorbidities, according to an FDA report published Wednesday. There were no reports of anaphylaxis, a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction, according to the report. The report found some Bell's palsy cases, a condition that causes half of your face to droop, but they were "balanced" with the number generally found in the overall population.

This could dramatically simplify vaccine rollouts. Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single shot, does not require deep cold storage, and is 100% effective at preventing COVID-19-related hospitalization and deaths. Below is what Dr. McGinn says about the vaccine:

February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors' offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But that is not what we saw this month. Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades. This is what Dr. McGinn says we could start doing to protect our vulnerable populations: