Study shows Johnson & Johnson booster increases COVID-19 immunity by 900%
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has joined the booster bandwagon as the company announced the results of its most recent clinical trial Wednesday.
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Scientists at the pharmaceutical company found the extra shot provides a whopping 900% more immunity against COVID-19.
News 8 spoke with Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health, who says this is very good news as the world continues to battle the coronavirus.
“The J&J as a single shot may have the immunity wane sooner than the two dose series of the others,” he said. “So, that may be why we are seeing such an increase after that second shot. Certainly it appears as though that nine times increase will improve protection.”
The booster is expected to follow the same timeline of both Pfizer and Moderna. Those who qualify will be eligible for the second shot eight months after full vaccination.
“We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, Johnson & Johnson’s global head of research and development, said in the news release announcing the results. “With this 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.”
It’s unclear exactly when Johnson & Johnson will get final approval to begin the booster shots.