I hope everyone who celebrates the 4th had a nice holiday weekend. We actually had another family over, ate food, laughed and felt somewhat like normal people. But it’s been so long, we were exhausted by the end of it. Reentry is going to take a while. And it must still be moderated because, even though we are vaccinated and wearing masks in crowds, COVID is not leaving us just yet. This Delta variant has come to play. It is now the number one strand here in California. I’m back to wearing a mask on my morning walks. However, most studies say I am still pretty safe with my double dose of Moderna protecting me, as is my Pfizer protected family. But what about our single dose Johnson & Johnson friends? According to CNN, they don’t have to worry about the Delta variant for a while.

The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine provides immunity that lasts at least eight months, and it appears to provide adequate protection against the worrying Delta variant, the company said in a statement Thursday night.

“Current data for the eight months studied so far show that the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong neutralizing antibody response that does not wane; rather, we observe an improvement over time,” Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of research and development at J&J’s Janssen vaccine arm, said in a statement.

The company said one dose of the vaccine elicits both a lasting antibody response and generates immune cells called T-cells that last eight months, also.

Earlier Thursday, J&J said a second or booster dose of its vaccine would not be necessary.

Dr. Anthony Fauci agreed. “With regard to the idea of boosting, there’s a lot of talk about that — but right now I think we still need to remember that in fact, the J&J vaccine is a highly effective vaccine that has been recommended very clearly and has received an emergency use authorization,” Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a White House briefing Thursday.

However, J&J, along wit the US National Institutes of Health, is testing to see whether giving people two doses of its vaccine will provide better protection.

[From CNN]

It should be noted that Pfizer and Moderna say their vaccines give at least six months of protection, even though studies have indicated that two doses might protect a person for much longer. J&J is also promising with eight months. Anyone who has had the recommended doses for any of the vaccines should feel good about their protection against the Delta variant. Remember, that does not mean you won’t get it, but the chances are lower and the effects will be far less devastating if you do.

With things moving forward on the vaccine front, people are starting to look ahead at boosters that most of the vaccines companies have predicted around the end of the year. One question emerging is whether we will be able to cross brands, as in can I get a Pfizer boost if I am a Moderna vaxxer? At this point, the major health organizations say the focus needs to be on people getting properly and fully vaccinated without skipping the second dose if it’s required. The medical community is working on all of the booster information now, with trials and tests, and will let us know later in the year. Right now, much of the information is speculative. Booster information is irrelevant if a person has not been properly vaccinated initially, so they are concentrating their efforts on that for the time being. But the booster rollout will be as informed as the vaccine rollout when the time comes.

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