Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced Thursday that its one-dose COVID-19 vaccine works well against the Delta variant, which was first identified in India.
Citing lab tests of vaccine recipients’ blood, the company said the vaccine offers an immune response for at least eight months, according to TODAY.
Dr. Mathai Mammen of J&J said, “Current data for the eight months studied so far show that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralizing antibody response that does not wane. Rather, we observe an improvement over time.”
Dr. Mammen is the global head of Janssen Research & Development, J&J.
The announcement has come after some people who have received the one-shot J&J vaccine have wondered whether they need a booster dose against the highly contagious Delta variant.
In the United States, the delta variant now accounts for 25% of the new COVID-19 cases, which has been detected in all 50 states.
Public health officials said the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which are given in two doses, have shown efficacy against all the known variants of the coronavirus, but it was previously unclear whether the J&J vaccine also offers protection against the Delta strain.
Last month, some experts expressed their concerns over Public Health England analysis that found one-dose AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against symptomatic illness caused by the Delta strain. They said people who had received the one-dose J&J vaccine would need a booster shot.
In a separate study, researchers from the United Kingdom found that adding a dose of AstraZeneca to an mRNA vaccine produced a stronger immune response than two doses of AstraZeneca, per TODAY.
The AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines are different; however, but share a similar technology, known as a viral vector.
On Thursday, in a White House briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said that guidance on vaccine boosters would be based on clinical data.
Dr. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said, “We need to remember, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a highly effective vaccine.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said over 12 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the United States so far. This story appeared on NBC News and TODAY.
