RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – From Pfizer getting full approval to the recent announcement about booster doses, we’ve heard a lot lately about mRNA vaccines, but what about people who have gotten the Johnson and Johnson shot?
The Johnson and Johnson shot is currently known as the one-dose vaccine, but that could change.
Right now, Wake Research is studying two-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccines and looking for volunteers for the study.
For Kimberly Parsons, getting vaccinated meant the chance to see family again.
“We were able to meet our granddaughter in Massachusetts, and we were able to see my mother-in-law who was 90,” she said.
She received the Johnson and Johnson shot as part of a clinical trial.
Her husband received an mRNA vaccine and expects to get a booster shot.
Federal health officials announced Pfizer and Moderna recipients can expect to get boosters eight months after their second shot.
Health officials haven’t announced a plan for Johnson and Johnson recipients yet, but researchers are studying boosters in people who got the one-dose shot.
“Right now we’re just waiting for guidance from Johnson and Johnson,” explained Dr. Matthew Hong, with Wake Research.
Wake Research has run clinical trials for a number of COVID vaccines throughout the pandemic. It’s where Parsons took place in the Johnson and Johnson trial last year.
Hong said it is important to remember that Johnson and Johnson is a different type of vaccine than Pfizer and Moderna.
“It is apples and bananas here not even oranges, so it’s a different mechanism,” he noted.
He said people should wait for the study results and federal guidance about boosters.
Vaccine research is still going on.
“The virus is evolving, the delta variant is exactly why we’re continuing to do this,” he said.
Right now, Wake Research is looking for people to participate in a clinical trial looking at the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as a two-shot series, studying different doses.
Hong said everyone in the trial will get the real vaccine – no one will receive a placebo.
“You’re also definitely going to be getting a second dose,” he said.
Parsons hopes people will continue to participate in clinical trials, and whenever a decision is made about a booster shot for Johnson and Johnson recipients, she’ll follow the guidance.
“When they let me know, I’ll be there,” she said.
If you’re interested in participating in the clinical trial for the two-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine, click here.
You must not be vaccinated yet.
