--- title: J&J COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant description: Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent severe disease among those infected with the Delta variant, according to a trial. canonical: https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-08-06T14:09:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:12:29.308Z article:section: Health og:title: Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant, Study Finds og:description: According to a trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa og:url: https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70cbe848cb2939a5/698a1bb2929fadc0acbf7912/johnson-johnson-delta.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Johnson Johnson Delta og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant, Study Finds twitter:description: According to a trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70cbe848cb2939a5/698a1bb2929fadc0acbf7912/johnson-johnson-delta.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant, Study Finds > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=49a2dce1-1659-4843-926c-3584f1a23412&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg Contributor Aug 6, 2021 2:09 PM UTC  An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson on November 17, 2020. An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson on November 17, 2020. Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images by [Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg Contributor Aug 6, 2021 2:09 PM UTC Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent severe disease among those infected with the Delta variant, according to a trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa. The study, known as Sisonke, provides the first large-scale evidence that the J&J vaccine works against this dominant variant, according to trial co-lead Glenda Gray. It’s probably more protective against Delta than it was with the earlier beta strain, she said in a presentation Friday. The single-dose shot was 71% effective against hospitalization and as much as 96% effective against death, she said. It also demonstrated durability of eight months. “These results show there is no need for a booster yet,” said Gray, who is president of the South African Medical Research Council. While the J&J vaccine is a key element to South Africa’s vaccination plan, the country temporarily [paused](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-17/south-african-regulator-recommends-lifting-j-j-covid-vaccine-ban) its use in April after the U.S. decided to suspend the shot because of its link to rare blood clots. Other data have raised questions about how well the shot holds up against the highly contagious strain that has driven renewed outbreaks in countries including the U.S. and China. One U.S. study released last month [showed](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-20/j-j-shot-raises-fewer-antibodies-against-delta-variant-in-study) the J&J shot produced relatively low levels of antibodies against Delta. J&J said that analysis, which hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal, had examined only one aspect of protection and didn’t consider long-lasting responses among immune cells stimulated by the vaccine. The drugmaker’s researchers [have said](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-02/j-j-covid-shot-neutralizes-delta-variant-is-durable-over-time) their own data indicated that the vaccine neutralizes the variant and that additional doses weren’t needed. ### Africa’s Rollout Earlier this year J&J agreed to supply as many as 400 million vaccines to the African Union through the end of 2022, delivering a boost to a continent trailing most of the world in the race to inoculate. The dose’s requirement for[ just a single shot](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-01/j-j-covid-19-vaccine-approved-in-south-africa-for-general-use) is seen as beneficial for Africa, where vaccine distribution to more than 1 billion widely dispersed people is likely to present a challenge. In the study, the vaccine was administered to the health workers at 120 sites in both urban and rural areas from Feb. 17 to May 17\. Analysis of a third data set is expected in coming days. There were two cases of the rare clotting disorder thrombocytopenia thrombosis syndrome among participants, with both making a complete recovery, Gray said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/"},"headline":"Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant, Study Finds","datePublished":"2021-08-06T14:09:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:12:29.308Z","description":"According to a trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa","url":"https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/","keywords":["COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70cbe848cb2939a5/698a1bb2929fadc0acbf7912/johnson-johnson-delta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Janice Kew and Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70cbe848cb2939a5/698a1bb2929fadc0acbf7912/johnson-johnson-delta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Johnson Johnson Delta","caption":"An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson on November 17, 2020.","creditText":"Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6088040/johnson-jj-shot-delta-variant/","name":"Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Shot Works Well Against Delta Variant, Study Finds"}}]}] ```