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Johnson and Johnson vaccine may not perform well against Delta variant, says study

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The single shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is much less effective against the Delta variant than it is against the original version of COVID-19, according to a new study posted online Tuesday.

The study, which examined blood samples in a laboratory setting and has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that anyone who received the J&J vaccine may need to receive a second shot as the variant continues to spread across the US. “The message that we wanted to give was not that people shouldn’t get the J&J vaccine, but we hope that in the future, it will be boosted with either another dose of J&J or a boost with Pfizer or Moderna,” study leader Nathaniel Landau, a virologist at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, told the New York Times.

Earlier this month, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson published preliminary data indicating its vaccine was effective against the Delta variant, first identified in India, at least eight months after inoculation. However, in May, the British government released a study indicating that a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is similar in structure to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, was just 33 percent effective against “symptomatic disease” caused by the Delta variant, while two doses were 60 percent effective against symptomatic disease.

J&J spokesperson Seema Kumar told the Times that the data from the latest study “do not speak to the full nature of immune protection.” In June, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told NBC’s “Today” show that “we have every reason to believe … that the J&J will perform well against the Delta variant, as it has so far against other variants circulating in the United States.” Walensky told lawmakers earlier Tuesday that the delta variant currently accounts for 83% of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

During the same hearing, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said researchers were still assessing whether booster shots would be needed to provide additional protection. “We don’t want people to believe that when you’re talking about boosters, that means the vaccines aren’t effective,” Fauci said. “They are highly effective, [and] we are talking about the durability of that.”

Initial studies indicate that mRNA vaccines manufactured by Moderna  MRNA, +4.48% and Pfizer PFE, -0.07% with German partner BioNTech  BNTX, +5.89% are effective against the delta variant and could provide protection for years, if the virus doesn’t mutate far beyond its initial form.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: ABC NEWS

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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