| In the race to vaccinate the world against Covid-19, the baton is about to be passed to Johnson & Johnson. With only two vaccines authorized in the U.S. and a rollout that's been falling short of initial projections, a potential third shot could speed up the process. All eyes were on the drugmaker with a single-dose regimen that, unlike vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna, can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures. The Food and Drug Administration had already set the bar for an emergency authorization at 50% efficacy, but Wall Street had its own ideas. Data from Pfizer's vaccination trials in early November drove the market higher, while a first look at Moderna's shot a week later propelled the S&P 500 to a record. With the slow pace of vaccinations and the threat of more transmissible new variants, expectations were once again running high on Friday ahead of J&J's results.  Photographer: Bloomberg Daybreak/Getty Images Photographer: Bloomberg Daybreak/Getty Images Analysts said the bar for J&J's shot was 80% efficacy. That could be enough to spark another rally, particularly in shares tied to companies beaten back by the economic shutdowns, like cruise operators or airlines. Less than that, they said, and the vaccine would be unlikely to see wide adoption in the U.S., though it could be used in poorer countries where the more potent -- and potentially expensive -- vaccines may be out of reach. President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, praised the results after J&J's shot prevented 85% of the volunteers from getting severe infections and 100% of hospitalizations and deaths. But Wall Street compared the vaccine's 66% efficacy rate in moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 to Moderna's and Pfizer's rates near 95% and saw the one-shot vaccine as coming up short. As any good pharmaceutical analyst will tell you, cross-trial comparisons are often apple to oranges. But Americans need more vaccines, and in all likelihood they will get one from Johnson & Johnson, regardless of what Wall Street thinks.--Cristin Flanagan | 
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