BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Center for Disease Control released a report Friday that indicates people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have lower levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than recipients of other vaccinations against COVID-19.
The CDC conducted a study from March 2021 to August that tracked anti-spike immunoglobulin G (Anti-spike IgG) levels and anti-receptor binding domain (Anti-RBD) levels in 100 volunteers, 32 fully vaccinated with Moderna, 51 with Pfizer, and 17 with Johnson & Johnson.
The median Anti-RBD level in tested individuals who were vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine sat at 4,333, while the median level for those who received the Pfizer vaccine sat at 3,217. Individuals who received Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine sat at a median level of 57.
Anti-spike IgG levels for those vaccinated with Moderna had a median of 3,236, which did not drastically differ from the median level found in Pfizer (2,983). Johnson & Johnson recipients had a median level of 59.
In the report, the CDC clarifies that “an immunologic correlate of protection has not been established for COVID-19 vaccines.” However, it continues to say that “antibody titers after infection and vaccination have been associated with protection.”
The CDC also states that their findings “suggest that the 2-dose Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine regimens provide more protection than does the 1-dose Janssen viral vector vaccine regimen.”
In August, Johnson & Johnson announced that its booster shot increased antibodies nine-fold higher than the initial shot alone. The CDC’s report did not comment on this announcement.