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By Ishika Dangayach, 11:00 AM ET
Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday that the second doseof its Covid-19 vaccine had a positive immunological response in early-stageclinical trials for people previously vaccinated with the single dose.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said thatsingle-dose J&J vaccination recipients would require boosters but has notmade any recommendations in the absence of further evidence.
The findings announced on Wednesday are likely to guide theUnited States' booster approach, which is slated to begin in September, whenthe country expects to begin giving boosters to those who got messenger-RNAvaccinations, WSJ reported.
J&J researchers said users who received a booster dosageof the injection produced virus-fighting antibodies that are nine-fold higherthan those found four weeks after a single dose.
Increases in antibody responses were found among vaccinationtrial participants aged 18 to 55, as well as those 65 and older who got a lowerdose of the booster injection, according to the firm.
J&J also said that a booster injection is required aftereight months, citing preliminary data published in the New England Journal ofMedicine in July that indicated significant antibody responses up to eightmonths following vaccination with the J&J one-dose vaccine.
“With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of theJohnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responsesamong study participants who had previously received our vaccine,” said MathaiMammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen Research & Development, Johnson& Johnson, in a statement.
“We look forward to discussing with public health officialsa potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boostingeight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination.”
While the new data is positive, the firm made no mention ofthe booster shots' possible influence on the delta variant or safety in itspress statement.
The J&J vaccination is approved for emergency use inpersons aged 18 and up and over the age of 18, Moderna's two-shot messenger-RNAvaccination has received emergency approval. Only Pfizer and partner BioNTechSE's vaccine has been completely authorized by the FDA for anyone aged 16 and above.
With inputs from WSJ