J&J does not plan to update its COVID-19 vaccine

Johnson & Johnson does not plan to update its COVID-19 vaccine, though other vaccine makers like Moderna Inc. , BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. , and Novavax Inc. are already working on new versions that aim to better protection against the currently circulating strains of the virus. “The company will focus on supplying its COVID-19 vaccine in parts of the world where the pandemic remains an emergency and there is acute need,” a J&J spokesperson told MarketWatch in an email on Tuesday. “To date, two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have shown robust protection against severe COVID-19 disease across variants, including omicron.” Executives from Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax on Tuesday morning presented clinical data to a Food and Drug Administration committee that is expected to decide whether the COVID-19 vaccines need to be updated. J&J did not present. The FDA recently restricted who can get J&J’s COVID-19 shot over concerns about blood-clot risks. J&J’s stock is up 3.5% so far this year, while the broader S&P 500 is down 18.1%.

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