COVID: Johnson & Johnson Reports Dramatic Boost To Immunity After Second Dose
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Known as the one and done COVID-19 vaccine, the single shot Johnson and Johnson may have to change its marketing. The company announced Tuesday that booster shots given two months after the first dose increased protection against the virus to 94 percent- comparable to Pfizer and Moderna.
Right now, the one shot J&J dose is 72 percent effective.
"The J&J vaccine as two doses actually performs exceptionally well even in the era of variants like delta," said UCSF's Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
This Spring, when vaccines were hard to come by, doctors said any shot was the correct shot to protect against the virus. That's the situation father Kevin Kelleher found himself in this April.
"It was either get Johnson and Johnson or get nothing," Kelleher said.
Same for Jeremiah Sheperksy.
"It was what Kaiser had available to stick in my arm when I showed up for an appointment."
Both men have worrisome co-morbidities and are interested in boosters.
"Getting the booster would increase my confidence in my immunity," Kelleher said.
The city of San Francisco started offering a dose of either Pfizer or Moderna to J&J recipients in August when the Delta variant was surging to offer more protection against the more transmissible variant.
Dr. Chin-Hong says he sees the writing on the wall of Johnson and Johnson boosters for some people.
"I think if you're in a vulnerable group, mainly those who are older and immune compromised - I think I might think about increasing that protection a little bit more."