J&J says Covid booster shot increases protection when given two months after first dose

Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday that its Covid-19 booster injection is 94 percent effective when given two months after the initial dosage. It further claims that when administered as a booster, the vaccine's safety profile remained constant and well-tolerated.

According to the firm, a J&J booster injection given six months after the first shot looks to be possibly much more protective against Covid, producing antibodies twelvefold greater four weeks later, irrespective of age.

The vaccination was well tolerated when given as a booster dose, with side effects largely consistent with those reported following the first dosage, the company said.

“Our single-shot vaccine generates strong immune responses and long-lasting immune memory. And, when a booster of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is given, the strength of protection against COVID-19 further increases,” said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen Research & Development, J&J, in a statement.

The Company has provided available data to the United States Food and Drug Administration and intends to submit the data to other regulators, the World Health Organization, and National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups around the world to inform decision-making on local vaccine administration strategies.

Last month, the Biden administration revealed plans to provide booster injections to those who received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations. An FDA advisory group unanimously approved Pfizer booster injections to adults 65 and older, as well as other vulnerable Americans, on Friday, CNBC reported.

When a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was administered two months after the initial dose, antibody levels increased four to six times above those reported following the single shot.

According to the company, the J&J booster injection has a 94 percent effectiveness rate in the United States. A booster injection given approximately two months after the initial dosage is 75 percent effective against symptomatic infections worldwide, the company said. It also exhibited 100 percent efficacy against severe and critical illness.

In real-world data from the United States, the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccination had vaccine effectiveness of 81 percent for COVID-19-related hospitalizations and 79 percent for COVID-19-related infections.

“It is critical to prioritize protecting as many people as possible against hospitalization and death given the continued spread of COVID-19,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D. and Chief Scientific Officer at J&J, in a statement.

“A single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that is easy to use, distribute and administer, and that provides strong and long-lasting protection is crucial to vaccinating the global population.”