New data released by Johnson & Johnson this week showed that using its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for the previously vaccinated could provide as much as a nine-fold increase in antibodies for patients at least 18 years old.
The news follows interim reports from July, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which show that vaccine recipients maintained strong neutralizing antibody responses through eight months post-immunization. Two Phase 1/2a studies were conducted on the previously vaccinated to determine the potential for boosters.
“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. 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,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of Janssen Research & Development, Johnson & Johnson, said. “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.”
Testing consisted of two age groups: those between ages 18 and 55 years old, and those 65 and older. Summaries of the results were submitted to medRxiv earlier this week.