The Food and Drug Administration’s advisory vaccine panel endorsed Johnson & Johnson booster vaccine to be offered at least two months after the initial shot a day after recommending Moderna’s Covid-19 booster proposal, US Today reports.
According to the recommendation from Johnson & Johnson, that had asked for flexibility with the booster, the extra dose could work better if people wait six months though it increases protection as early as two months after the vaccination.
Though it didn’t set a firm timeline, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of the J&J booster, pointing that Americans would be substantially better protected with a second dose.
Despite previous concerns over rare but serious side effects such as blood clots and the Guillain-Barre syndrome as well as the reservations about the J&J data and the lack of time to independently verify it, FDA’s panel approved the boosters pointing that the benefits outweighed the risks and that no new safety concerns were flagged with the boosters.
The panel stressed that the jab should be considered a two-dose vaccine rather than the one-and-done shot that had received initial authorization.
After the Friday’s vote, all three vaccines that were granted emergency use authorization in the US now have green-lit booster jabs by the FDA advisers since Moderna boosters was approved on Thursday while Pfizer’s were endorsed last month.
It’s not up to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to approve both recommendations.
Be the first to comment