J&J booster slashes Omicron hospitalisations -South African study

Johnson & Johnson's booster shot provides high levels of protection against the omicron variant of Covid-19, according to data from a trial of healthcare workers in South Africa released Thursday.

Preliminary results from the Sisonke study, which have not been peer-reviewed, found that for people who had received one vaccine dose, the booster improved protection against hospitalization to 85 percent from 63 percent.

The study, carried out by the South African Medical Research Council compared 69,000 healthcare workers in South Africa to a group of unvaccinated South Africans.

The trial took place in November and December but participants were enrolled before the current wave now sweeping across the country, allowing researchers to "evaluate the effectiveness of the Company’s Covid-19 vaccine specifically as omicron became the dominant variant in the country," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

The study’s authors said it provided “the first evidence of the effectiveness” of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, known as Ad26.COV.2, when delivered six to nine months after first dose....