Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine could end up being a two-dose regimen if it proves to offer more protection than one, a White House adviser said Thursday.
“Johnson & Johnson is currently evaluating the performance of its two-dose vaccine, that is, its own booster,” said Andy Slavitt, senior advisor to the COVID-19 response team. he said in an interview with the Washington Post Live.
“Pending the results of this, waiting for what the FDA will say if the vaccine is approved first, there may be a second shot from Johnson & Johnson.”
The drug maker announced a large-scale trial to test the two-dose regimen in November.
The company said it planned to enroll up to 60,000 participants worldwide for the study, which was conducted in parallel with a single-dose trial.
Participants were given a placebo or experimental trait, currently called Ad26COV2, followed by a second dose or placebo 57 days later.
“The study will evaluate the efficacy of the research vaccine after the first and second doses to evaluate protection against the virus and the possible incremental benefits for the duration of protection with a second dose,” J&J said in a communiqué.
The company has already applied for emergency authorization of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, which has been shown to be 66% effective against moderate to severe cases.
If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it will have to go head-to-head with its rivals Pfizer and Moderna, two doses, which offer more than 90% effectiveness.
With publishing cables