J&J may follow ImmunityBio’s South African Covid booster shot trial

8th September 2021

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

Talks are underway with Johnson & Johnson about running a booster trial in South Africa after the company’s Covid-19 vaccine was used in a mass trial of almost half a million health workers in the country.

The trial would include participants from that study, known as Sisonke, and could possibly start in October, according to Glenda Gray, who is co-lead of the mass trial. It would add to a booster study in the country using ImmunityBio’s shot that has already started.

South Africa, where scientists believe that about a quarter of a million people have died of Covid-19, has hosted vaccine trials for companies including Novavax, Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc and J&J. The country is currently exiting its third wave of infections with another resurgence expected later this year.

“We are talking to J&J and the department of health about the feasibility of a boost,” said Gray, who is also the president of the South African Medical Research Council. “We would like to start that in October, in time for the fourth wave.”

J&J Shot Study Shows Covid Infections Halved in Health Workers

A number of the world’s richest countries have started giving some of their citizens additional shots with the aim of bolstering the immune response against the virus several months after their initial inoculation, as the number of antibodies may wane.

While ImmunityBio’s trial is in its first phase, with about 50 participants, it is expected to reach its third and final stage in October, with about 10 000 people receiving doses, she said.

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION