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The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine may be less effective in battling coronavirus variants than other shots, a new study suggests. The results, published by bioRxiv but not yet peer reviewed or published in a journal, suggest that the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna could better protect against the delta and lambda strains than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Polus, 7/20)

The coronavirus vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson is much less effective against the Delta and Lambda variants than against the original virus, according to a new study posted online on Tuesday. Although troubling, the findings result from experiments conducted with blood samples in a laboratory, and may not reflect the vaccine’s performance in the real world. But the conclusions add to evidence that the 13 million people inoculated with the J.&J. vaccine may need to receive a second dose — ideally of one of the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, the authors said. (Mandavilli, 7/20)

Intensive-care unit and lung doctor Dr. Vin Gupta told CNBC that he’s already encouraging patients who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine to get a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot amid the dramatic increase in delta variant cases across the U.S. Gupta, a professor at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told “The News with Shepard Smith” that “AstraZeneca, when combined with a Pfizer or Moderna booster, is showing tremendous levels of protection against delta, in terms of the antibody levels that are generated in patients.” (DeCiccio, 7/20)

Sen. Mitt Romney is frustrated that some in Israel can get a third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, but people in the United States cannot. He pressed national health leaders on the availability of booster shots during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday. “Why should we not allow people who are elderly or have other compromised conditions to be able to get that booster?” Romney asked. “We have people who want to get that booster, and I’m hearing that from people who are at risk and concerned.” And he sure sounded like he wanted to get a third injection. (Canham, 7/20)

KHN: Analysis: Necessary Or Not, Covid Booster Shots Are Probably On The Horizon 

The drugmaker Pfizer recently announced that vaccinated people are likely to need a booster shot to be effectively protected against new variants of covid-19 and that the company would apply for Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization for the shot. Top government health officials immediately and emphatically announced that the booster isn’t needed right now — and held firm to that position even after Pfizer’s top scientist made his case and shared preliminary data with them last week. This has led to confusion. Should the nearly 60% of adult Americans who have been fully vaccinated seek out a booster or not? Is the protection that has allowed them to see loved ones and go out to dinner fading? (Rosenthal, 7/21)