The FDA ’s Vaccine Expert Panel Recommends Approval of a J & J Booster for Anyone Who Had an Initial Shot

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expert vaccine panel on Friday, Oct. 15, recommended a booster dose of the Johnson&Johnson-Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. In a unanimous vote, the 19-member panel recommended the booster for anyone who was previously immunized with the vaccine, at least two months after the that first dose. With the advice, the panel has now backed boosters for all three vaccines currently available in the US. J&J’s vaccine is the only one authorized in the U.S. (and globally) that requires only a single dose. If the FDA accepts the committee’s decision, which it is expected to do, the Centers for Disease Control will then outline which specific groups should receive the additional dose. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The recommendation comes a day after the committee recommended a booster of the Moderna vaccine, which uses a different technology than J&J and requires two doses initially. The FDA is expected to make a formal decision soon about whether to follow the committee’s advice on that vaccine. The FDA and CDC have previously authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech booster for people over age 65 and for adults who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and its complications, such as people with underlying health conditions, as well as health care and other essential workers whose jobs may put them at increased risk of exposure and therefore more severe COVID-19. Read more: FDA Panel Votes to Recommend Moderna C...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news