Latest COVID-19 vaccine offers strong protection against symptomatic infection, including from JN.1, early CDC data shows

(CNN) – A shot of the latest COVID-19 vaccine can help cut the chances of getting a symptomatic infection by half, early data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests. Vaccine manufacturers updated their formulations to target the Omicron variant XBB.1.5, which was the predominant circulating strain for much of 2023. But the new CDC data shows that the latest vaccines are similarly effective against JN.1, which has been causing most COVID-19 infections in the United States since late December. Related Stories For this analysis, researchers analyzed trends among more than 9,000 adults who were tested for COVID-19 at Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy locations between mid-September and mid-January. For some of the patients with positive tests, the researchers were able to test for a specific “quirk” in the virus that allowed them to differentiate between specific strains. Overall, the updated COVID-19 vaccines provided 54% protection against symptomatic infection among immunocompetent adults who were recently vaccinated compared with those who did not receive an updated vaccine, according to the report published Thursday by the CDC. “Everything from this study is reassuring that the vaccines are providing the protection that we expected,” said Ruth Link-Gelles, lead author of the...