J&J to seek authorization for COVID-19 booster shot this week: report
Recent findings from CDC suggested jab was 71% protective against COVID-19 hospitalization
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Johnson & Johnson is preparing to request authorization of its COVID-19 booster vaccine early this week, the New York Times reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
The report follows an FDA announcement on Friday indicating its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on Oct. 15 will discuss the administration of the J&J COVID-19 booster shot for individuals 18 years and older, a day after similar discussions are planned for the Moderna COVID-19 booster shot among people ages 18 and older.
J&J did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
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Recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested the one-shot J&J vaccine was 71% effective against COVID-19 hospitalization from March to August, versus 93% for Moderna’s vaccine, and 88% for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
"Although these real-world data suggest some variation in levels of protection by vaccine, all FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide substantial protection against COVID-19 hospitalization," researchers concluded.
J&J had previously released data suggesting the shot was 81% effective against COVID-related hospitalization, with "no evidence of reduced effectiveness over the study duration, including when the Delta variant became dominant in the U.S," a company release reads. Additional data indicated a booster shot offered 94% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 when administered two months following the initial dose, with antibody levels reported to increase four to six times higher versus the single shot.
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"A single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that is easy to use, distribute and administer, and that provides strong and long-lasting protection is crucial to vaccinating the global population," Dr. Paul Stoffels, vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer at J&J, said in a statement on Sept. 21. "At the same time, we now have generated evidence that a booster shot further increases protection against COVID-19 and is expected to extend the duration of protection significantly."
Top U.S. health officials have emphasized that authorities would move with urgency in addressing booster shots for recipients of Moderna and J&J's vaccines after the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shot was the first to clear regulatory hurdles among certain high-risk populations last month.