CDC panel OKs Moderna, J&J and mixing boosters
Mix-and-match COVID-19 booster shots could be available by the weekend after a crucial federal committee unanimously voted to allow them Thursday.
Letting Americans choose among the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as a COVID-19 booster shot would increase protection against the disease that is killing on average 1,093 Americans a day, the committee said.
It also voted to recommend a second shot for all 15 millions Americans who received the one-dose J&J vaccine, as well as a booster dose for certain groups of people who got the Moderna vaccine.
The vote by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is the second-to-last step in the booster authorization process.
Once CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signs off on the recommendation, which is expected to happen quickly, Moderna and J&J boosters can begin to be offered in the United States.
The committee made its decisions based on data presented by the vaccine makers and a National Institutes of Health study. It also considered the endorsement of similar recommendations Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration.
A booster of the Moderna vaccine was recommended at least six months after people get their second shot, but only for those 65 and older or 18 and older if they’re at high risk for severe COVID-19, or their jobs or living conditions put them at high risk of exposure to the virus.
A second dose of the J&J vaccine was recommended for everyone who received their first dose at least two months ago.
A booster dose is not required for a person to be considered fully immunized. People who received two doses of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or one dose of J&J, are fully immunized.
All booster doses will be free, just as all COVID-19 vaccines are, Reddy said.
FDA authorized Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for people 65 and older or at high risk for COVID-19 because of health problems, jobs or living conditions on Sept. 22.
The CDC committee votes came after more than six hours of presentations and discussions.
Moderna presented information showing the efficacy of the vaccine after a two-dose series fell over time and most sharply after the rise of the delta coronavirus variant. This resulted in more breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in fully vaccinated people.
Testing of a booster dose of Modera at least six months after their second shot showed a 16- to 22-fold increase in protection against the delta variant, Moderna told the committee.
The Moderna booster dose is 50 micrograms, one-half the initial 100 micrograms of the initial two doses. Moderna used the smaller dose because it restored the level of immunity as well as a larger dose.
“Our goal is to always use the dose that is most optimally effective for boosting,” said Dr. Jacqueline Miller, Moderna’s senior vice president for infectious diseases.
More than 189 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, about 57% of the total population. Hospitalization rates among unvaccinated Americans are between nine and 15 times higher than among vaccinated people, according to the CDC.
Almost 6% of fully vaccinated Americans have already received a COVID-19 booster shot, according to CDC data.
“Our goal is to always use the dose that is most optimally effective for boosting.”
Dr. Jacqueline Miller