New study finds Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘neutralises’ Delta variant
A glimmer of hope has been provided in the quest to avoid the highly contagious Delta variant triggering a damaging third wave in the UK and elsewhere across the world.
Johnson & Johnson is reporting that its single-shot vaccine has shown significant promise against the strain in a laboratory study.
Analysis of blood from eight patients showed that immune responses elicited by the vaccine against the Delta variant, first identified in India, were at a higher level than against the Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa.
“We believe that our vaccine offers durable protection against COVID-19 and elicits neutralising activity against the Delta variant,” Johnson & Johnson Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said.
J&J has submitted the data as a preprint to the website bioRxiv, ahead of peer review.
And in another boost, data from a separate study also showed that immune response for recipients of the vaccine lasted at least eight months.
“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 and development at J&J’s drugs business, said.
So far, preliminary data has shown vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and Moderna (MRNA.O) are largely protective against Delta, with the concentration of virus-neutralising antibodies being somewhat reduced.
