Johnson & Johnson vaccine raises less effective antibodies against Delta variant: Study

A new study has revealed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be less effective in battling COVID-19 variants. According to the study, Johnson & Johnson showed  66.9 per cent efficacy in preventing moderate to severe disease. Pfizer and Moderna were 94 to 95 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 variants.

J&J vaccine less effective

The study conducted at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine has not been peer-reviewed. According to the study, the "mRNA-based" vaccines were 94-95 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 while the "adenoviral vector-based" J&J vaccine had 66.9% efficacy in preventing moderate to severe disease. The researchers found that there was decrease of protection shown by J&J vaccine against the Beta, Delta, Delta plus and Lambda variants. For the study, researchers analysed people immunised with these vaccines. 

Nathaniel Landau, the study author, New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine told Fox News that all the three vaccines produced antibodies against the coronavirus. Landau added that Pfizer and Modern however, "raised better antibodies" than J&J vaccine. The virologist asserted that Johnson & Johnson vaccine might show better results if a second dose of the vaccine is given to the people.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine maker company announced that its vaccine generated strong, persistent activity against the rapidly spreading Delta variant and other highly prevalent COVID-19 variants. The eight-month-long study which has been submitted to bioRxiv for review, showed that the single-shot vaccine has neutralizing antibody activity against the Delta variant at an even higher level than what was recently observed for the Beta (B.1.351) variant in South Africa.  Paul Stoffels, MD, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson in the press release stated that the new study shows the effectiveness of J&J vaccine against COVID-19. 

“Today’s newly announced studies reinforce the ability of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to help protect the health of people globally,” said Paul Stoffels in the press release.

“We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against COVID-19 and elicits neutralizing activity against the Delta variant. This adds to the robust body of clinical data supporting our single-shot vaccine’s ability to protect against multiple variants of concern", Stoffels added. 

IMAGE: PTI