A dose of COVID-19 vaccine is prepared at Garfield Medical Center, Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Dec. 18, 2020.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the United States.

It is the third COVID-19 vaccine that has received FDA's emergency use authorization (EUA) in the country, following the first one developed by American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech, and second one developed by American drugmaker Moderna.

It is also the first single dose COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States.

The EUA allows Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to be distributed in the United States for use in individuals 18 years of age and older, according to the FDA.