J&J vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold, company says

A new study submitted to medRxiv found that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), who helped in the vaccine development with his team but was not involved with this trial, said that boosting after six months appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially.

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The State of the pandemic

In this Harvard Magazine feature, Dan Barouch, MD, Ph.D. (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) is listed amongst three scientists who took stock of the virus’s epidemiology and pathogenesis, the diagnosis and treatment of the disease it causes, and the interplay of variants and vaccines. Barouch helped develop the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, previously developed vaccines against HIV and Zika, and is actively involved in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research and assessment.

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What to know about boosters if you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) discusses data from a clinical trial released earlier this month showing that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine his team helped develop provides substantial protection against the Delta variant.

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Cooperation under pressure: Lessons from the COVID-19 swab crisis

In a first-person retrospective and analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Ramy Arnaout, MD, DPhil (Pathology, BIDMC) details the collaborative and open-source effort he coordinated to address the shortage of swabs that hampered the nation’s ability to test for and track the spread of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic, and details the lessons learned.

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As Virus Cases Surge, Biden Administration Encourages More Use of Antibody Treatments

As Delta variant cases surge around the country, the Biden Administration renewed its call for health providers to use monoclonal antibody treatments. Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said monoclonal antibody treatments are important tools that have shown substantial therapeutic effects.

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FDA permits Covid vaccine booster shots for people with weakened immune systems

In a CDC advisory group meeting in June, Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said the hardest to vaccinate people are those who are immunosuppressed.

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FDA to authorize third vaccine dose for people with weak immune systems

Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said the FDA’s move to make third shots available to some with weakened immune systems made sense. Barouch also commented on the long and successful history of mixing and matching different vaccine platforms for other viruses, and because of the similarities in how coronavirus vaccines were produced, mixing could potentially be particularly appealing approach.

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Push to approve COVID-19 vaccines for kids as child cases climb

As researchers examine the effect of COVID-19 vaccines on children, Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC) said the risks of not getting vaccinated vastly outweigh the risks of getting vaccinated for adults and children.

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Health care leaders back vaccine mandates

Peter Healy (President, BIDMC), Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), and others urged employers to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, noting the only real protection against the Delta variant of the disease is inoculation.

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