Johnson & Johnson on Thursday said that a single shot of its Covid vaccine has shown strong protection against the Delta variant and provides durable protection against infection more broadly.
The US-based pharma firm in a statement stated that the recipients of its single shot Covid vaccine produced strong neutralising antibodies in at least eight months against all variants including Delta. The Delta strain was first identified in India, is considered dangerous and spreading fast around the world.
The firm also added that its vaccine displayed 85% efficacy and could reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death.
"Current data for the eight months studied so far shows that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralizing antibody response that does not wane; rather, we observe an improvement over time," Mathai Mammen, head of research & development at J&J's drugs business, stated in the statement.
The Delta variant after wreaking havoc in India causing a tremendous surge in Covid cases has already reached several countries and prompted the UK to delay its reopening by one month in June.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the Delta variant can become a dominant strain in the US in the coming weeks.
J&J firm said its Covid vaccines neutrality the Delta variant within 29 days of taking the first dose and protection grew and improved over time.
It analysed the blood samples of eight participants in its late-stage trial of the Coronavirus vaccines to evaluate neutralising antibodies produced against the Delta variant.
“We’re extremely happy, actually, and confident there’s no need for the booster at the moment and we’re protected against different strains,” said Johan Van Hoof, J&J’s global head of infectious diseases and vaccines, in an interview.
Hoof further added that the firm believes that people who are given its vaccine shot don't need a booster shot within a year of taking the jab.
“And if a boost is needed we don’t think we’ll need to change the formulation,” he said.
As there are new mutated variants of the disease emerging that are more transmissible than the original Covid virus that broke in 2019, scientists and some vaccine manufacturers have been creating an updated version of their vaccines to target the new developing strains.
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The vaccine makers updating their existing vaccines are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna Inc, and AstraZeneca Plc and have earlier said that their Coronavirus vaccines are effective against the fast-spreading Delta variant.