JOHNSON & Johnson late Thursday announced that new data shows its coronavirus vaccine generated a “strong, persistent” immune response to the rapidly spreading delta variant.
“We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against COVID-19 and elicits neutralizing activity against the Delta variant,” Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, said in a statement. “This adds to the robust body of clinical data supporting our single-shot vaccine’s ability to protect against multiple variants of concern.”
The company also said that the immune response produced by the vaccine lasts at least eight months.
“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,” Mathai Mammen of Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
Pfizer and Moderna have also said they believe their vaccines will work on the delta variant, which was first found in India.
The new data might calm J&J recipients who were concerned about the lower efficacy of the J&J vaccine in the face of the delta variant. As the U.S. waited for more data on the J&J vaccine and the delta variant, some recipients took matters into their own hands and got a dose of Pfizer or Moderna in the hopes it would boost their protection. The company’s announcement could diminish concerns over the need for booster shots in the near future.
- USNEWS
