Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘LESS EFFECTIVE’ against Indian Delta variant

Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘is far LESS EFFECTIVE against the fast-spreading Indian “Delta” variant’, suggests a new study.

A recent study carried out by a team of New York University researchers discovered that the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine is far less effective at preventing coronavirus infections from the Delta variant and other mutated forms of the virus than from earlier strains.

While the new strain is only responsible for a fraction of the total coronavirus cases in mainland Europe, it is gaining ground across the continent. The Indian Delta coronavirus variant that swept the UK has become dominant in Portugal and has also started to appear in clusters across Germany, France and Spain.

This worrying trend is prompting European health officials to warn that further action is needed to slow its spread.

It accounted for 70 per cent of sequenced cases in the Portuguese capital of greater Lisbon this month, which is up from around 10 per cent in May. According to data from the WHO, the mutation also accounted for more than 20 per cent of cases in Italy and about 16 per cent in Belgium.

The researchers suggested that J&J recipients might require booster shots for better protection against the Delta variant, however, at this time, health officials are not recommending boosters for any vaccines.

The Spanish Public Health Commission decided in June that the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine, which only requires one dose to offer full protection against serious illness, would be used in Spain for the 40 to 49 age group.

The decision by the commission, which consists of the Health Ministry and the country’s regional health authorities, saw that the speed of the vaccination drive could accelerate considerably given that a second shot is not required and full immunity is achieved with just one shot.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, please remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories.