J&J Vax 85 Percent Effective Against Hospitalization During Dominance Of Omicron In South Africa

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the Company) has announced new preliminary results from the South African Phase 3b Sisonke study which showed that a homologous (same vaccine) booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) demonstrated 85 percent effectiveness against COVID-19-related hospitalization.

Photo Insert: The Johnson & Johnson 'single-dose' COVID-19 vaccine

The study, conducted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), showed that the Johnson & Johnson booster reduced the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 among healthcare workers in South Africa after Omicron became the dominant variant, according to a PR Newswire report.

During the months studied (mid-November to mid-December) the frequency of Omicron increased from 82 to 98 percent of COVID-19 cases in South Africa as reported by GISAID, an initiative that provides COVID-19 data.

A second, separate analysis of the immune response to different vaccine regimens, conducted by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), demonstrated that a heterologous booster (different vaccine) of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in individuals who initially received the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine generated a 41-fold increase in neutralizing antibody responses and a 5-fold increase in CD8+ T-cells to Omicron by four weeks following the boost.

A homologous boost with BNT162b2 generated a 17-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies and a 1.4-fold increase in CD8+ T-cells by four weeks following the boost. Both neutralizing antibodies and CD8+ T-cells were higher four weeks after the boost with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine than with the BNT162b2 vaccine.

The increase in CD8+ T-cells generated by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be key to explaining the high levels of effectiveness against severe COVID-19 disease and hospitalization in the Sisonke 2 study, as the Omicron variant has been shown to escape neutralizing antibodies.

"Data from the Sisonke 2 study confirm that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shot provides 85 percent effectiveness against hospitalization in areas where Omicron is dominant. This adds to our growing body of evidence which shows that the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine remains strong and stable over time, including against circulating variants such as Omicron and Delta," said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Johnson & Johnson.

"We believe that the protection could be due to the robust T-cell responses induced by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, these data suggest that Omicron is not affecting the T-cell responses generated by our vaccine."

The data have been submitted to the pre-print server medRxiv by the studies' authors, with anticipation of publication in peer-reviewed journals.

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