The European Medicines Company (EMA) on Wednesday authorized the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid shot as a booster jab for folks aged 18 and over, to be administered no less than two months after they acquired their earlier dose.
The European regulator authorized the J&J booster dose for utilization after knowledge confirmed that it will increase antibodies that shield in opposition to the Covid pandemic, as nations rush to seek out methods to comprise the unfold of Omicron.
In its evaluation, the EMA said that public well being officers throughout the EU at the moment are cleared to manage the J&J jab as a booster after one dose of the corporate’s Jansen Covid jab or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines.
The EMA has already signed off the usage of the Pfizer and Moderna booster jabs six months after the primary two doses have been acquired. The company is at present weighing authorizing AstraZeneca’s booster dose.
International locations globally have stepped up their vaccination campaigns in current weeks in a bid to spice up safety provided to residents in opposition to the pandemic as Omicron quickly infects residents world wide. Whereas knowledge is at present restricted, the World Well being Group has warned that Omicron might pose a “very excessive” threat attributable to its vital transmissibility.