FDA advisers recommend J&J and Moderna boosters

FDA advisers recommend J&J and Moderna boosters

 

Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously last week to recommend a booster dose for both Johnson & Johnson and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines.    For Moderna, the advisers recommended that the 50-micorgram booster dose -- half the size of the initial doses -- be administered six months after the completion of the primary series and only to certain groups: people age 65 and older; people ages 18 to 64 who are at high risk of severe Covid-19; and people ages 18 to 64 whose exposure to the coronavirus in their settings or jobs put them at risk for Covid-19 complications or severe illness.    For Johnson & Johnson, the recommendation was for a booster dose at least two months after people get the first dose. This would apply to all recipients of the J&J vaccine, which is authorized for people 18 and older.    Remember, these are still just recommendations and the FDA has yet to authorize boosters for either vaccine. Currently, only Pfizer has received emergency use authorization for certain adults to receive booster doses.    The FDA also asked the committee to discuss data showing that it's safe to mix any of the three authorized Covid-19 vaccines -- Moderna's, Pfizer's, or Johnson & Johnson's -- when giving booster shots. The National Institutes of Health presented early information from an ongoing study showing that it didn't matter which vaccine people got first and which booster they got -- it was safe to mix boosters and it revved up immune response. Mixing boosters also provided a good response to the Delta variant.  CNN reported Tuesday that the FDA is planning on allowing Americans to receive a different coronavirus vaccine for their booster shot than their original dose, according to two sources familiar with the current thinking inside the agency.    Dr. Amanda Cohn, a member of the FDA committee who is also chief medical officer for the CDC's National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, said it would help the CDC in guiding the use of boosters.    If the FDA gives emergency use authorization for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters, vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet to discuss whether to recommend them. Typically, shots can be administered once the CDC director signs off on the recommendation.