Do I need a second J & J dose to prevent deltas?

July 2, 2021-A highly contagious delta variant of the new coronavirus is underway across the United States, wondering if even fully vaccinated people are protected from the threat of this new COVID. I think.

New data from the UK, where Delta is causing almost all new infections, reassures us in this regard.

A study in the United Kingdom that follows health care workers on a regular basis found that the vaccine still remained. Highly effective For this variant. After a single dose, the vaccine proved to be about 35% effective against the development of infections with prominent symptoms and 80% effective in keeping infected people away from the hospital. The two doses were even better, reaching 79% efficacy for symptoms and 96% efficacy for the need for hospitalization.

But what about the one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

There was little specific information on how this vaccine would tolerate Delta. Some people are worried that this may result in inadequate protection.Dr. Angela Rasmussen, an influential virologist and principal investigator of vaccine and infectious disease organizations in Saskatchewan, Canada Recently tweeted She was worried about Delta and would get an mRNA booster after J & J’s single shot.

On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged an information gap in the White House’s COVID briefing. He now said that indirect evidence from the AstraZeneca vaccine, which uses a technique similar to J & J, suggests that even a single shot should be very protective.

“We are currently looking at neutralization data, and soon more reliable data will be available and will be available as soon as it occurs,” Fauci said.

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson also said it would share data on vaccine efficacy against the “near future” Delta. In the meantime, they said that anyone who had been vaccinated once with the J & J vaccine should be relieved.

“We believe that the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine will continue to provide lasting protection, and there is currently no evidence to suggest the need for booster immunization,” they said. It often competes with other variants that first appeared in South America and South Africa.

Very early information, posts In a press release It also suggests that good news is approaching on Thursday. The data are from a South African Sisonke study that regularly tests Johnson & Johnson vaccinated health care workers. Researchers say that while looking at some breakthrough infections, 94% are mild and 2% are severe.

They also say that the data coming next week in scientific publications will shed more light, but the immune response to J & J shots seems to get stronger over time.

“We are very reassured that the majority of breakthrough infections in Sisonke are mild. We believe that the recommendation of booster immunization with another vaccine is premature,” said Linda, co-researcher Sisonke. Professor Gail Becker said in a statement.

Isaac Bogok, MD, and infectious disease specialists and clinical researchers at the Toronto General Hospital Research Center are more cautious. He says he needs to monitor what the infection will look like in the coming months to see if a booster is needed for Johnson & Johnson shots.

“People are talking very confidently about this issue,” Bogoch said. “I don’t think you have enough information to make that decision, right? And that’s a question you can answer. Wait a minute. You can see what the United States looks like.”

If boosters are needed, the United States certainly has enough vaccine supply to meet those needs. This is a privilege not available in most other countries in the world.