Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine generated a long-lasting immune response to the deadly virus in an early-stage clinical trial, the pharmaceutical giant said.
More than 90 percent of the 805 study participants had neutralizing antibodies that offer protection against COVID-19 29 days after receiving a single dose of the vaccine, the New Jersey-based pharmacist said on Wednesday.
The antibodies remained for at least 71 days among participants aged 18 to 55, according to provisional results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. J&J said it will have data later this month on the durability of immunity in people over 65.
Early data showed signs of promise for Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, even when the company allegedly encountered an obstacle in the production of the vaccines.
J&J said it hopes to announce the results of its main final-stage vaccine test later this month. He will then ask the Food and Drug Administration to release the shot for emergency use if the data shows that it is safe and effective.
Early safety data showed that people who had reactions to the vaccine generally improved within 24 hours, the company said. The most common side effects were headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and pain at the injection site.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is different from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines distributed throughout the country.
Vaccines from the latest companies require two doses and use genetic material called messenger RNA to direct the body to create a small amount of peak coronavirus proteins, triggering an immune response. Johnson & Johnson’s requires only one dose and supplies peak proteins via a common cold virus that cannot infect the recipient.
J&J also studied a two-dose regimen of its vaccine and found that the second dose, administered 56 days apart, “triggered a more than two-fold increase in antibodies against COVID-19,” the company said.
Johnson & Johnson shares jumped 1.7 percent in pre-market trading on Thursday, to $ 160.68 at 7:42 am