
Studies indicate J&J Covid-19 vaccine booster protects people against severe illness from Omicron variant
CNN
Two reports released Thursday show that people who get booster doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine are well protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the company said.
Researchers said the findings indicate that most of the Covid-19 vaccines will protect people against the worst outcomes from infection -- and show some of the emphasis on how the various vaccines affect immune system components called antibodies may be misleading.
One real-life study from South Africa showed vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization from Covid-19 rose to 85% after a booster dose of the J&J vaccine, even after the Omicron variant was circulating. And a lab-based study in the US indicated the vaccine stimulates a strong immune response from cells known as T-cells, which protect people against severe disease even if they don't block the virus entirely from infecting the body.