Johnson & Johnson says COVID-19 vaccine protects against delta variant

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The company announced Thursday (July 1) that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective against the highly contagious delta variant.

Although the analysis was performed on only a small number of participants and has not yet been reviewed, it suggests that a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, may provide a barrier for the United States against the highly transmissible variant. . The results were submitted as two separate studies to the bioRxiv prepress server.

The delta variant (B.1.617.2) was first detected in India in October 2020, and the World Health Organization classified it as a “variant of concern” in May 2021, Live Science previously reported. The variant has spread to at least 92 countries and prompted new restrictions on COVID-19 in some places. In the UK, the delta variant now accounts for more than 90% of newly diagnosed cases, and in the US, it currently accounts for more than 20% of new cases, Live Science reports.

Related: Quick guide: COVID-19 vaccines in use and how they work

Delta is believed to be about 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant, the variant first discovered in the UK and currently prevalent in the US. A recent study by Public Health England found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease caused by the delta variant, while AstraZeneca’s vaccine was 60% effective against the variant, Live Science reported.

Because the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is so similar to the Pfizer vaccine (both are mRNA vaccines), experts believe it likely confers a similar amount of protection. But little is known about how the Johnson & Johnson vaccine protects against the delta variant. Some experts predicted that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would provide similar protection against Delta as the AstraZeneca vaccine because they use the same platform, according to the New York Times. But there are some differences between the two vaccines, the most important of which is that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is given in a single dose, while the AstraZeneca vaccine is given in two doses.

The new data is based on two separate analyzes. The first, based on data from eight participants in the company’s phase 3 trial, found that the vaccine produces neutralizing antibodies — cells of the immune system that bind to and inactivate the virus before it infects cells — against the delta variant.

The second analysis, conducted by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, analyzed data from 20 participants who were enrolled in a previous clinical trial testing the vaccine. The company wrote that they found that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine protects people from SARS-CoV-2 for at least eight months and generates “neutralizing antibodies to a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern,” including delta. (Protection may last more than eight months, but that’s the time frame the researchers have studied so far.)

The level of neutralizing antibodies increased over time: The subjects had an average of more neutralizing antibodies eight months after their vaccination compared to 29 days after vaccination, according to the statement. The vaccine also produced immune system cells known as T cells that persisted for more than eight months.

“The current data for the eight months studied so far shows that the single Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generates a robust neutralizing antibody response that does not diminish; instead, we see an improvement over time,” said Dr. Mathai Mamin, Global Head of Research. and development at Johnson and Johnson in the statement. “In addition, we observe a particularly robust and enduring cellular immune response.”

Moderna and Pfizer previously announced that their vaccine protects for at least six months, according to CNN. A small new study has found that mRNA vaccines may provide protection for years if the virus does not advance significantly, Live Science previously reported.

Originally published on Live Science.

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