J&J booster generates ninefold increase in antibodies, company says
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Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine generated a ninefold increase in antibodies among clinical trial participants compared with levels seen 28 days after the first shot.
The finding supports the use of a booster shot in people who previously received the single-dose regimen, the company said.
Previous data published in The New England Journal of Medicine last month demonstrated that a single dose of the vaccine generated strong activity against SARS-CoV-2 for at least 8 months, including against variants. Like other COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, however, Johnson & Johnson studied the impact of adding a booster shot in two phase 1/2a studies.
According to a press release, interim data from these studies showed that a booster dose generated “a rapid and robust” increase in spike-binding antibodies that were nine times higher than what was seen 28 days after the primary single-dose vaccination.
The studies demonstrated significant increases in binding antibody responses among participants aged 18 to 55 years, as well as among those aged 65 years or older who received a lower booster dose, the company said.
The data were released a week after the Biden administration announced that it would begin offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to fully vaccinated Americans beginning Sept. 20. The plan, as it was announced, involves people receiving a booster shot of the messenger RNA vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna 8 months after their second dose, although U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, MD, said that people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also are expected to need a booster.
Murthy said officials were awaiting forthcoming data from Johnson & Johnson — presumably the findings released Wednesday — before deciding about whether to add the vaccine to the booster plan.
“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,” Mathai Mammen, MD, PhD, global head of Janssen Research & Development at Johnson & Johnson, said in a press release. “We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting 8 months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination.”
References:
Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson announces data to support boosting its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-announces-data-to-support-boosting-its-single-shot-covid-19-vaccine. Accessed on August 25, 2021.
Perspective
Back to TopSandra Adamson Fryhofer MD, MACP
For those who received the Johnson & Johnson “one dose and you’re done” viral vector vaccine, the data published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating durable strong immune response 8 months after vaccination are encouraging. Preprint release of the company’s study of an additional dose boosting immune response is also encouraging. The vaccine has been linked to thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare but potentially deadly adverse effect. Safety of a second dose must also be verified.
Currently, additional mRNA vaccine doses are recommended only for immunocompromised patients who received an mRNA two-dose series — leaving those receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the dark as to what to do.
How this will affect immunocompromised adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is still not clear. That said, because the vaccine was authorized much later, the number of immunocompromised patients who may have received it is probably small. I look forward to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices review of these studies and their possible impact on future recommendations.
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