Johnson & Johnson declared on Wednesday that the second shot of its COVID-19 vaccine eight months after the first dose was found in a study to increase people’s immunity to the disease.
Johnson & Johnson has been constantly testing the efficacy of boosters on the people who have been injected with their single-dose vaccine.
According to the drugmaker, the latest results show a ninefold increase in antibody levels in individuals who receive an additional shot.
The company said researchers observed a “rapid and robust” increase in antibodies in people ages 18 to 55 and in those 65 years and older who received a lower booster dose.
The company’s single-dose vaccine single-shot already stimulates a strong immune response to the virus.
Additionally, according to Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development at Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, in a statement, “With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine.”
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“We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting eight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination,” he further added.
Johnson & Johnson already declared that they are working with the Food and Drug Administration, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Medicines Agency, and other health agencies on releasing the said booster shots.
There are about 13.8 million Americans who received Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine.
Although studies have suggested that the degree of immunity given by Pfizer and Moderna vaccines fade over time, these studies have excluded J&J’s shot.
However, several studies suggested – ranging from antibody research that has yet to be peer-reviewed to anecdotal reports of more hospitalizations in infections among vaccinated people – have raised concerns that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine offers weaker immunity protection to the highly infectious Delta variant.