Johnson & Johnson: Booster Shot Causes Nine-Fold Increase in Antibodies

By Teddy Grant Published: August 25, 2021

Johnson & Johnson: Booster Shot Causes Nine-Fold Increase in Antibodies

FILE - In this Thursday, April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine sits on a table at a pop up vaccinations site the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, in the Staten Island borough of New York. The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

By: Teddy Grant

Booster shots of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine greatly increase the antibodies needed to fight the virus, the company said on Wednesday.

According to J&J, people who get the booster shot six to eight months after receiving the one-dose vaccine had their antibodies increase nine-fold.

“We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months. With this new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development for Janssen Research & Development, said in a statement.

The FDA granted emergency authorization to Johnson & Johnson in February for its vaccine, which had an efficacy of 72%, according to the New York Times.

The company said it is in communication with the US Food and Drug Administration, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Medicines Agency and World Health Organization about offering its booster shot.