People are looking for mRNA boosters for J & J vaccines

Amid growing concerns about Delta variant, Johnson & Johnson (J & J) Some people who have had a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are taking it themselves to get boost immunity with one of the mRNA vaccines. -And the top virologists are among them.

Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a vaccine and infectious disease organization at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, tweeted last week. Got a booster with Pfizer vaccineAfter shooting J & J in April.

“Canada is currently rushing to vaccinate as many people as possible, so I’m right to protect as much as possible from Delta variants and therefore others who have only one shot. I think I did. ” She tweeted..

“Public health may need to make difficult decisions without a complete dataset to support it.” She added..

Rasmussen is not the only one to make this recommendation.Seattle-based lung / emergency physician Dr. Vingupta, Tweet He said, “I personally saw this advice many times. If you receive a single dose of J & J, get one shot of Pfizer or Moderna as a booster if possible. In most cases, J & J I know who is doing it and talking about it. The others are the same-because two seem to be better than one: Delta. “

There is no comprehensive agreement on whether boosters (especially mRNA boosters) will help recipients of J & J vaccines. Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Was told Reuters A second J & J dose or addition of an mRNA booster may provide better protection, “but data and CDC-FDA guidance are needed.”

Vaccine Specialist at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, Ph.D. Was told CNBC More data is needed before deciding on booster immunization for the J & J vaccine.

Bob Wachter, MD, University of California, San Francisco He tweeted he wouldn’t get a booster on J & JBut instead, he “caution” until he knew a) how well J & J could tolerate Delta, b) Delta was really serious, and c) whether additional mRNA strategies were safe and effective. Do (that is, continue masking). ” “”

So what’s the proof that Rasmussen and others jumped in search of boosters? She says there are good data that J & J as a whole is very protective against severe illness, but less protective against symptomatic illness.

“J & J vaccines provide complete vaccination in terms of what the vaccine really needs to do at the end of the day, that is, they need to prevent you from really getting sick, You need to keep you away from the hospital. Johnson & Johnson’s one shot is really effective with that. ” Rasmussen said CNBC.. “But it’s unclear how much the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can prevent infection, so I thought it would be wise to take as many precautions as possible.”

There is also evidence that a double dose regimen of the mRNA vaccine or AstraZeneca is very good at protecting against both mild and severe disease with respect to delta, but not a single dose.

surely, UK Public Health Study The overall vaccine efficacy of a single shot of Pfizer or AstraZeneca was found to be only 35% effective against delta-induced symptomatic disease compared to 49% against alpha mutants. (B.1.1.7).

further, Vaccine mixing and matching She said the first shot and double-dose regimen boosters are safe and produce a strong immune response.

Finally, it’s not clear how J & J is protected against Delta, Rasmussen said.

A spokesperson for J & J’s Janssen unit said in an email: Today’s MedPage The company believes that the vaccine “will continue to provide lasting protection and there is currently no evidence to suggest the need for booster immunization. Endurance of a single dose immune response with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Gender It has been measured for up to 239 days to date and remains strong. More data will be available in the coming months. “

A spokeswoman said the company “is confident that the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be maintained against the delta mutant” and “is looking forward to sharing the data in the near future.” “He added.

The CDC’s request for comment on whether authorities would provide guidance to more than 12 million Americans who received a single dose of J & J was unanswered at the time of the press. A much larger proportion of Americans (more than 140 million) receive a double dose of the mRNA vaccine.