The immune response from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines spikes and then drops drastically while the response from the Johnson & Johnson shot remains low but stable, a new study finds.
Researchers compared blood samples from a few dozen people fully vaccinated with one of three shots available in the U.S.
Findings - published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on J&J boosters on Friday - showed antibody levels among people who got the Pfizer and Moderna were initially 12 times to 40 times higher than the J&J shot.
However, eight months later, the levels of the two-dose vaccines waned while those of the J&J vaccine 'remained relatively stable.'
The findings may throw a wrench in the advisory committee's discussions because they appear to suggest that a booster shot isn't needed after all.
A new study published on Friday and presented at the FDA's advisory committee meeting on J&J boosters looked at all three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. Pictured (left to right): The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine
Results showed two to four weeks after the second dose, Pfizer's vaccine (dark blue) had 12 times higher antibody levels than the one-shot of J&J (black) and Moderna (green) had levels 40 times higher. By eight months later, the levels for Pfizer and Moderna decreased by up to 44-fold while the J&J levels remained stable
For the study, researchers looked at 61 people at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston who were fully vaccinated.
Of the participants, 31 patients received the Pfizer vaccine, 22 received the Moderna vaccine and eight received the J&J vaccine.
Blood samples were taken between two to four weeks after the second dose of
