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 …
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. 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.
