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FDA panel votes in favor of Johnson & Johnson booster shots
The FDA panel voted unanimously to authorize a second shot for Americans who received their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.
ATLANTA - The FDA's vaccine advisory panel voted 19 to 0 to recommend the agency authorize booster shots of the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine for adults 18 and older who are at least 2 months out from the initial dose.
About 14 million Americans have received the one-shot vaccine J & J, and many of them were vaccinated more than two months ago.
J & J had asked regulators to authorize boosters at 2 or 6-month intervals after the first dose.
But, with very limited data, especially on the 6-month interval dose, the FDA panel voted in favor of a second shot after 2 months, but left the final recommendation on when to get a booster to a CDC advisory panel, which is set to meet next week.
The same panel voted unanimously Thursday to recommend the FDA authorize boosters of the Moderna vaccine for Americans 65 and older and certain higher risk adults, to be given at least 6 months after the second dose of the mRNA vaccine.
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The FDA is expected to issue a final decision on both the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccine booster in the next few days.
Next Thursday, a CDC advisory panel will meet to finetune the booster recommendations.
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The CDC director will then decide whether to sign off on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations.
If authorized, booster doses for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines could begin as soon as next weekend.
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