By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Johnson & Johnson stock (NYSE:JNJ) rose 0.7% Tuesday as the company applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use approval to administer the booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine to adults.
The company seeks to administer the booster dose to adults who have already received the single shot of the vaccine. J&J’s is the only single-dose vaccine available in the U.S.
The company's submission comes after a phase-3 study found that a booster given 56 days after the primary shot provided 94% protection in symptomatic cases and 100% shield against severe Covid.
Antibodies rose nine-fold if the booster was given six months after the first shot.
There was no evidence of reduced effectiveness over the study duration conducted from March to July 31. Comparable vaccine effectiveness was demonstrated when the study was extended to August 31, including when the Delta variant became dominant in the U.S., the company said.
Delta is the most dominant variant in most countries and is also the most infectious, the reason behind the second wave of infection in those countries.
The administration has so far permitted only Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)-BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) to go ahead with its booster dose for individuals 65 years and older or those adults who are at risk.