Johnson and Johnson on Thursday, 1 July, said that its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the virus.
According to a Bloomberg report, the drugmaker indicated that the vaccine produces strong neutralising antibodies in its recipients for at least eight months, providing protection against all variants of the coronavirus.
The vaccine dose neutralised the Delta variant within 29 days from the day of inoculation, and the degree of protection fostered improved over time, the company indicated.
The Delta variant, first found in India, is predicted to become the most widespread strain in the US in the coming weeks, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
Moreover, data has shown that people vaccinated by the vaccine should not need a booster shot for at least a year after inoculation, the company indicated.
“We’re extremely happy, actually, and confident there’s no need for a booster at the moment and we’re protected against different strains,” J&J’s global head of infectious diseases and vaccines, John Van Hoof was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The Study
In order to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine against different strains of the COVID-19 virus, the company had collected the blood samples of eight participants to study the antibodies produced.
Another study on the vaccine was conducted by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which evaluated the durability of the immune response in 20 participants of an early-stage vaccine study.
The data from the research showed that the number of antibodies produced by the vaccine in response to the Delta variant were significantly higher than those formed against the Beta variant that had been discovered first in South Africa.
The vaccine displayed an efficacy of 85 percent against severe disease, as per a Moneycontrol report.
More detailed results of the studies conducted will soon be available on the pre-publish virtual depository, bioRxiv.
The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is expected to be made available in India soon.
(With inputs from Bloomberg and Moneycontrol)
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