▶ J&J: BOOSTER SHOT STIMULATES NINE-FOLD RISE IN ANTIBODIES

Johnson & Johnson said a booster of its Covid-19 vaccine provided a rapid and strong increase in antibodies, supporting use of a second shot among people who previously received its singledose immunization.

A second dose of the J&J vaccine led to a nine-fold increase in Covid-fighting antibodies compared with the levels participants had 28 days after getting their first shot, the health care giant said Wednesday, citing interim data from an early-stage trial.

Trial participants were given the booster six months after the first shot, according to J&J. Significant increases in antibody responses were seen in subjects ages 18 to 55 years old, and among those 65 or older who were given a lower dose of the booster. The data are being submitted to a preprint medical publication, Medrxiv.

The latest findings, coupled with data showing the single shot’s durability through at least eight months, underscore a future booster strategy, said Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development for J&J’S pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen.

“We look forward to discussing with public health officials a potential strategy for our Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, boosting eight months or longer after the primary single-dose vaccination,” Mammen said in a statement.

The shares were little changed at $175.24 as of 9:37 am in New York.

Health experts around the world are engaged in a debate about when Covid-19 vaccine booster shots will be needed, and who should get them first.