The one-shot COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Johnson & Johnson generated a long-lasting immune response, according to trial data published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 13.
As part of the trail, scientists at J&J had randomly assigned healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 55 and those 65 and older to receive a high or low dose of its vaccine candidate ‘Ad26.COV2.S’, or a placebo. Some participants in the 18-55 age group were also given a second dose.
Most volunteers produced detectable neutralising antibodies against the virus after 28 days, according to phase 1-2 clinical trial data.
Additionally, all volunteers had developed detectable antibodies by day 57. This was regardless of the vaccine dose or age group.
Fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and pain at the injection site were the most common side effect, according to the data. However, the data suggests that these side effects were less common in the older age group who received the one-dose vaccine regime and among those who received a lower dose.
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The pharmaceutical giant is expected to release the results of its phase-3 clinical trial later in January or early February. Phase-3 comprised 45,000 volunteers.
The company is then expected to apply to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorisation. If cleared, it would be the third vaccine to be rolled out after those developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
While a number of vaccines have been granted emergency use authorisation across the world – including those in India developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneza and Bharat Biotech – there continues to be a shortage of supply. This is hampering the massive vaccination exercise underway across the world. This shortage has also meant that poorer nations need to wait longer to get their share of vaccine doses.
More vaccines, such as the one being developed by Johnson & Johnson, getting approval would lead to the speeding-up of the vaccination process.
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J&J’s chief scientific officer Dr. Paul Stoffels said in an interview on January 12 that the company expects to meet its stated target of delivering 1 billion doses of its vaccine by the end of this year as the company ramps up production.
A speedy rollout of vaccines is being seen as the best way to curb the spread of COVID-19 and restore normalcy in the pandemic-battered global economy. As many as 50 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have already vaccinated a large number of people from high-risk groups.
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