Prognosis
J&J Shot Raises Fewer Antibodies Against Delta Variant in Study
- Delta variant accounts for 83% of U.S. cases, CDC says
- J&J data released earlier indicates shot fights delta strain
This article is for subscribers only.
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine produced relatively low levels of antibodies against the delta variant in a study, raising questions about how well the shot will hold up against the strain that accounts for the vast majority of U.S. cases.
The laboratory study, released on the preprint server bioRxiv, hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal and focuses on one key portion of the immune response, called neutralizing antibodies. New York University scientists found that J&J’s vaccine produced roughly five-fold lower levels of the protective antibodies against the delta variant compared to the levels raised against an early coronavirus strain.