U.S. regulators to vote on COVID - 19 booster shots

Oct 15 Reuters - A panel of independent advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will vote later on Friday on whether to recommend a single dose of Johnson Johnson's drug formula COVID - 19 for people 18 and older, as well as the appropriate interval between the two doses.

The FDA's advisers will decide on whether to recommend the booster shot be given at least two months or at least six months after first dose.

The FDA is not bound to follow their recommendations, but typically does.

At the meeting on Friday, the panel will also discuss the merits of mixing vaccines from different manufacturers so that an individual would get a booster that wasn't the same as their initial vaccination. They will consider data from a National Institutes of Health study of 458 participants that received some combination of Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and J&J shots.

Data from the study indicated that people who got J&J's COVID-19 vaccine as a first shot had a stronger immune response when boosted with vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna.

J&J scientist Dr. Johan Van Hoof said it was difficult to prove the benefits of mixing vaccines and said evidence supported J&J vaccine recipients getting a second dose of the same vaccine

The panel unanimously supported https: www.reuters.com on Thursday. com-business healthcare-pharmaceuticals us-fda-advis-weigh -case-covid - 19 vaccination-booster - shots - 2021 - 10 - 14 booster shots of Moderna's COVID - 19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness or occupational exposure to the virus.

If the FDA signs off on boosters, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make specific recommendations about who should get shots. CDC advisers are scheduled to meet to discuss boosters next week.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was approved by the U.S. Health Agency last month.

U.S. health officials have been under pressure to authorize the additional shots after the White House announced plans for a widespread booster campaign in August with approvals from FDA and the CDC pending approvals!