A study by South African scientists has shown that a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines is also highly effective against the new variant of the coronavirus Omikron. This is another formulation (after the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines) that has had such results.
Johnson's "Booster" effective against Omicron
Published Dec. 30, 2021 12:21
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A single-dose booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was 84% effective in preventing hospitalization in South African health workers who became infected as a result of the spread of the Omikron variant, the country's health service said.
The South African study looked at 69,092 health care workers who received their second injection between 15 November and 20 December.
- The study reassures us that COVID-19 vaccines are still effective for what they were designed for - protecting people from serious illness and death. This is further proof that we did not lose this influence even in the face of a very mutated variant , said Linda-Gail Bekker, co-lead investigator of the study.
A South African study found that the effectiveness of the J&J vaccine in preventing hospitalization increased shortly after the booster dose from 63%. up to 84 percent after 14 days. Efficacy reached 85% one to two months after the injection.
The researchers said their analysis had several limitations, however, including a short follow-up time of eight days on average for healthcare professionals who had received a booster dose in the last 13 days, or 32 days for those who had received a booster dose 1-2 months earlier.
Previous research has suggested that the primary immunization cycle (two doses, or one for J&J) provides much less protection against Omicron infection, which is spreading rapidly in many countries after it was first identified in South Africa and Hong Kong in late November./p>
Source: Reuters
