Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate looks promising based on initial results from the ongoing trial conducted in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The Phase 1-2a trial, which started in July 2020 in the US and Belgium, includes a total of 805 study participants – healthy adults between 18 and 55 years old and those 65 and older – who are randomly high or low doses of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate or a placebo.
Early data show that after a single dose of the vaccine candidate, antibodies against COVID-19 were found in 90 percent or more of the study participants on day 29 of the trial, regardless of the dose given, and 100 percent of the participants ranged in age from 18 to 55 on day 57, according to the study. A press release from Johnson & Johnson on the study states that the antibodies “remained stable during day 71” – the length of time measured so far in the ongoing trial.
Data on how long the immune response lasts in participants in the trial older than 65 years will be available at the end of January, according to the press release, which also noted that the researchers plan to follow up ‘also’ longer to one years’. According to CNBC, “the company is expected to announce the results of the 45,000 phase III trial of 45,000 people later this month.”
The study found that the candidate for the vaccine is ‘generally well tolerated’. The most common side effects include fatigue, headache, muscle aches and pain at the injection site, as well as fever.
Dr Purvi Parikh, allergist and immunologist at the Allergy and Asthma Network, tells Yahoo Life that the vaccine candidate is “very promising if it proves to be effective” in the next phases of the trials. ‘So it seems that 90 percent of the participants had immunity a month after the shot and that it was already two months after that. Now we need to see how reproducible it is in the larger Phase III studies with 30,000 to 60,000 people. We also need to see how it prevents infection and spread. ”
Dr Philip Grant, infectious disease doctor and lead investigator of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine trial at Stanford University, told Yahoo Life that the results of the study were “encouraging” and added: “I am optimistic.”
Grant says the early trials show a good immune response from the vaccine without many side effects. “I think it’s encouraging that it’s well tolerated,” Grant says.
It is not yet known how protective the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is against COVID-19 (both Pfizer and Moderna are approximately 95 percent effective). Grant explains that the phase III trial will show what the percentage effectiveness will be.
How does the candidate for Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine work?
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate uses an adenovirus (a common virus that causes cold symptoms) that is adapted so that it cannot recur and make people sick. “The adenovirus carries a gene from the coronavirus into human cells, which then produces the coronavirus peak protein, but not the coronavirus itself,” according to a Johnson & Johnson release. “This ear protein is the primary immune system to fight a subsequent infection by the virus.”
Adenoviruses have been used in other drugs for years – Johnson and Johnson, for example, used them in his Ebola vaccine and said in the release that there were ‘very long-term safety data’.
The COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, on the other hand, use mRNA technology, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the ‘spike protein’, instructs our cells to make a harmless piece. found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. ‘Our immune systems realize that the protein does not belong there and begin to build up an immune response and make antibodies. … At the end of the process, our bodies learned how to protect against future infection. ‘
How different is the COVID vaccine candidate for Johnson & Johnson from Pfizer and Moderna?
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate requires only a single shot – which Grant calls a ‘big’ advantage over Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, both of which require a second dose, 21 days and 28 days apart respectively.
Another benefit: Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine ‘can be stable for several months in refrigerators only,’ says Grant. ‘The distribution will therefore be similar to most others [non-COVID] vaccines. “However, Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at extremely cold temperatures (-70 ° C) and can only be stored for five days at a cool temperature of 2 ° C to 8 ° C. Modern’s vaccine must also be stored in a freezer. stored between -25 ° C and -15 ° C.
What would a third vaccine mean for vaccination in the US?
Grant and Parikh agree that a third vaccination option will likely help speed up vaccinations in the US. “It will definitely help to achieve herd immunity faster, as there will be more vaccine supply,” says Parikh, “and with only one dose we can get people vaccinated faster.”
More than 9 million Americans were vaccinated just one month after the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in the US. Grant says that if the goal is to get at least 150 million people vaccinated by the summer, you can see that we’re far behind on that pace to get to that number. … Unless there is another vaccine, it does not look like it will happen. ”
Grant adds: ‘Given the current pace, it looks like we’ll only be out of the woods in October if we’m optimistic. I think so [third vaccine] we can possibly get to the point that we are in a much better place in the summer than now. “
What happens next?
If Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID vaccine candidate is shown to be safe and effective in its Phase III trials, the company will, according to the press release, apply for an emergency permit (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration. . Grant estimates that the earliest vaccination can be obtained through the vaccine in February, with the first person possibly getting the vaccine in early February or early March.
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over the age of 60 and those with an immune system are at greatest risk. If you have any questions, please refer to the CDCse en WIE’s resource guides.
Read more about Yahoo Life:
Want to bring lifestyle and wellness news to your inbox? Sign in here for Yahoo Life’s newsletter.