Do I need a booster if I have the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?
Probably at some point, but health officials are still collecting the data needed to make a decision.
With the planned boosters in the United States, as early as the fall, for those who received the Pfizer and Moderna two-shot vaccines, single-dose J&J jab recipients might wonder to what extent their protection is maintained.
All vaccines used in the U.S., including the J&J vaccine, continue to do their job to prevent hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
“I don’t think there’s any sign that the J&J vaccine will fail in its main task,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Despite continued protection against serious illness, U.S. officials plan to offer Pfizer and Moderna boosters eight months after the second shot based on evidence showing that effectiveness against infection decreases over time. In addition to the decision, vaccines do not appear to be as strong against the highly contagious delta variant as they were against previous versions of the virus.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said reinforcements for the J&J vaccine “will probably be needed.” Authorities expect more data to be decided in the coming weeks.
In part, because the launch of J&J did not begin until March, several months after vaccinations against Pfizer and Moderna began. The J&J plan is done differently. And there is more data on how the Pfizer and Moderna delta vaccines work because they are more widely used in countries where the variant appeared before its expansion in the United States.
There is some real-world data showing that the J&J feature holds the delta variant. A huge study of health workers in South Africa showed that the vaccine remained at 71% protection against hospitalization from the variant and between 91% and 96% effective against death. And the researchers said the vast majority of so-called “advanced” infections in vaccinated people were mild.
J&J has also submitted lab data on antibodies to the virus that indicate its vaccine protects against the delta variant for eight months and counting. Another small lab study has raised questions about whether a two-dose approach would work best, an option J&J is studying.
A separate question is whether people with very weakened immune systems should receive additional vaccines as part of the original vaccines, as they do not respond as well to any vaccine. The government now recommends a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for organ transplant recipients and others in this group. But he is still collecting data before making a similar recommendation for another dose of the J&J vaccine.
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The AP answers your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Send them to: [email protected]. Read more here:
What do I need to know about the delta variant?
Should vaccinated people mask themselves with increasing cases of COVID-19?
Can I get a “long COVID” if I am infected after vaccination?