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“In June, I started to worry about the spread of this Delta variant and had travel plans,” said Gallagher, clinical professor at Temple University School of Pharmacy.
So Gallagher decided to get a dose of a different mRNA vaccine, even though it was already considered fully protected with its single dose of the J&J vaccine.
Once the rumor spread that he was given an extra dose, he began to hear many more who had done the same.
“My phone rang for a week,” Gallagher said.
At this time, it is not recommended to try to boost your immune system with an extra dose of Covid-19 vaccine after an injection of J&J. Vaccine makers are considering whether this needs to change.
Gallagher isn’t the only scientist getting ahead of the directions.
In a statement, Johnson and Johnson said: “We believe the Johnson & Johnson single injection COVID-19 vaccine will continue to provide long-lasting protection, and at this time, there is no evidence to suggest the need. give a booster dose. “
This study is a pre-publication, which means that it has not been subject to an in-depth peer review. It was performed on the blood of vaccinated volunteers, so it did not reflect real-world conditions, but it did show that at least some of the new emerging variants, including the Delta variant, may escape the protection offered by a single dose of the vaccine.
This protection, said Dr John Zaia, director of the Center for Gene Therapy in City of Hope, Calif., Is demonstrated by current hospitalization data. He does not recommend an extra dose.
“We haven’t seen anyone yet say that the people hospitalized in the United States are the ones who got the J&J vaccine. I think that tells us a lot,” Zaia said.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, also does not recommend an extra dose. He said the data does not support the need for it.
“There are a lot of people who like to beat the J&J vaccine; however, when you look at what we want in a vaccine, we want it to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death, and I don’t see any indication. that the J&J vaccine fails in the main tasks for which it is designed, ”said Adalja.
Dr Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center in Philadelphia, agrees and says J&J has always been an “excellent” vaccine.
“I don’t know of any data to suggest the need for a booster dose,” Offit said. “I understand that it has become one thing, but vaccines still induce excellent protection against serious illnesses caused by the Delta variant.”
Dr William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University does not make a recommendation, but he sees growing interest.
“People are talking about it more openly, not just among themselves,” Schaffner said. “There are a tremendous number of people out there, and I think a substantial number, the more I hear about it, who work the system.”
People vaccinated with the J&J vaccine should operate the system because it is against official directions from a pharmacy or immunization clinic to give an extra dose. That could change once a vaccine is cleared by the FDA. Then, a doctor could prescribe it off-label. But for now, people are finding ways to get around the orientation.
Schaffner said he heard that some people were out of state to get an extra dose because there is no national vaccine registry. He also heard that others had found pharmacies and vaccination sites that didn’t ask many questions.
“They are just happy that you are coming for the vaccine,” Schaffner said.
Schaffner said there was no real data to show that an extra dose would be harmful, so if patients ask for an extra dose, doctors may factor it into their calculations when advising them. patients.
“The question, not only in the mind of the patient, but also in the minds of doctors, is, ‘Well, if it’s not going to hurt? What harm could it do?’” Schaffner said . The doctor may also think, “I can’t tell you how much benefit you will get, but maybe it will make us both feel better. ”
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