Health

Johnson & Johnson Reports Nine-Fold Increase Of Antibodies After Booster

Johnson & Johnson vaccine vials. Photo by Phill Magakoe. Getty.

Melanie Wilcox Contributor
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Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday its COVID-19 booster shot provides “rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies” after receiving a single dose of the vaccine.

“New interim data from these studies demonstrate that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generated a rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies, nine-fold higher than 28 days after the primary single-dose vaccination,” the company said in a statement.

The company said the data is from two Phase 2 studies conducted in the United States and Europe. (RELATED: Biden Administration Reportedly Set To Announce Booster Shots For Most Americans)

“We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months. With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development for Janssen, said in a statement.

Antibodies are the frontline immune system against infection.

Johnson & Johnson said it is coordinating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Medicines Agency, World Health Organization and other health agencies about providing a booster doses of the Janssen vaccine.

“We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, boosting eight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination,” Mammen added.

A team of researchers in July discovered blood clots associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), although at much lower rates than the AstraZeneca vaccine, The Wall Street Journal reported. The FDA lifted a temporary pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April after finding “six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals” who took the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.