Booster may be needed for J&J shot as Delta variant spreads, some experts already taking them

Booster

28/06/2021 11:00

(Repeats story first published on Friday)
    By Michael Erman
    NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Infectious disease experts are
weighing the need for booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech
 PFE.N   BNTX.O  or Moderna  MRNA.O  mRNA-based vaccines for
Americans who received Johnson & Johnson's  JNJ.N  one-dose
vaccine due to the increasing prevalence of the more contagious
Delta coronavirus variant.
    A few say they have already done so themselves, even without
published data on whether combining two different vaccines is
safe and effective or backing from U.S. health regulators.
Canada and some European countries are already allowing people
to get two different COVID-19 shots.
    The debate centers on concerns over how protective the J&J
shot is against the Delta variant first detected in India and
now circulating widely in many countries. Delta, which has also
been associated with more severe disease, could quickly become
the dominant version of the virus in the United States, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle
Walensky has warned. 
    There is no substantial data showing how protective the J&J
vaccine is against the new variant. However, UK studies show
that two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca
 AZN.L  vaccines are significantly more protective against the
variant than one.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2N909D
    Andy Slavitt, former senior pandemic advisor to U.S.
President Joe Biden, raised the idea this week on his podcast.
At least half a dozen prominent infectious disease experts said
U.S. regulators need to address the issue in short order.
    "There's no doubt that the people who receive the J&J
vaccine are less protected against disease," than those who get
two doses of the other shots, said Stanford professor Dr.
Michael Lin. "From the principle of taking easy steps to prevent
really bad outcomes, this is really a no brainer." 
    The CDC is not recommending boosters, and advisors to the
agency said at a public meeting this week there is not yet
significant evidence of declining protection from the vaccines.
    Jason Gallagher, an infectious diseases expert at Temple
University’s School of Pharmacy, recently received a Pfizer dose
at the Philadelphia vaccine clinic where he has been
administering shots. He got the J&J vaccine in a clinical trial
in November.
    Gallagher said he was concerned about the UK data https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vaccines-highly-effective-against-b-1-617-2-variant-after-2-doses
 showing lower efficacy against the Delta variant for people who
 received one vaccine dose. 
    "While the situation has gotten so much better in the U.S.,
the Delta variant that's spreading ... and really quickly taking
over in the U.S. looks a little more concerning in terms of the
breakthrough infections with the single-dose vaccines," he said.
"So I took the plunge."
    Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted in the
United States with 56% of the adult population fully vaccinated.
    J&J said it is testing whether the immune response from its
vaccine is capable of neutralizing the Delta variant in a
laboratory setting, but no data is available yet.
    Both mRNA vaccines showed efficacy rates around 95% in 
large U.S. trials, while J&J's vaccine was 66% effective in
preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 globally when more
contagious variants were circulating. 
    Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a researcher at the University of
Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, said
on Twitter she had gotten a dose of Pfizer's vaccine this week
after receiving J&J's in April. 
    Rasmussen, who declined to be interviewed, encouraged
Americans who received the J&J vaccine to talk to their doctors
about a possible second shot.
    "If you live in a community with overall low vaccination,
I'd suggest you strongly consider doing so," she tweeted.
    Vaccine expert Dr. Peter Hotez from Baylor College of
Medicine in a tweet said adding a second J&J dose or one of the
mRNA vaccines might provide broader protection, "but we need
data and CDC-FDA guidance." 
    The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID) is running a trial to determine the need for
boosting all currently authorized shots with another dose of
Moderna's vaccine. NIAID scientist Dr. John Beigel told Reuters 
the agency hopes to have that data by September to help inform
regulators' decisions on boosters.
    As long as case counts remain low in the United States, J&J
recipients should wait for more data, he said.
    If Delta variant-driven infections and hospitalizations
increase significantly, he said, "then decisions might need to
be made with an absence of data. But right now, I do think it's
appropriate that they wait."

 (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill
Berkrot)
 ((michael.erman@thomsonreuters.com;))