Coronavirus

FDA Expected To Authorize Mix-And-Match COVID Booster Shots

The agency is reportedly closing in on letting Americans mix COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and is not planning to recommend one shot over another.

FDA Expected To Authorize Mix-And-Match COVID Booster Shots
Lynne Sladky / AP
SMS

Federal regulators are expected to authorize the mixing and matching of COVID-19 booster doses this week in an effort to provide flexibility as the campaign for extra shots expands.

The upcoming announcement by the Food and Drug Administration is likely to come along with authorization for boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots and follows the OK for a third dose for the Pfizer vaccine for many Americans last month. The move was previewed Tuesday by a U.S. health official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the announcement.

FDA Panel Endorses Booster Shot For J&J COVID-19 Vaccine
FDA Panel Endorses Booster Shot For J&J COVID-19 Vaccine

FDA Panel Endorses Booster Shot For J&J COVID-19 Vaccine

U.S. health advisers endorsed a booster of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Friday.

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The FDA was expected to say that using the same brand for a booster was still preferable, especially for the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that have proved most effective against the coronavirus. The agency was still finalizing guidance for the single-shot J&J vaccine.

Preliminary results from a government study of different booster combinations found an extra dose of any type revs up levels of virus-fighting antibodies regardless of the brand people first received. But recipients of the single-dose J&J vaccination had the most dramatic response — a 76-fold and 35-fold jump in antibody levels, respectively, shortly after either a Moderna or Pfizer booster, compared to a four-fold rise after a second J&J shot.

FDA Panel Endorses Moderna COVID Vaccine Booster Shot
FDA Panel Endorses Moderna COVID Vaccine Booster Shot

FDA Panel Endorses Moderna COVID Vaccine Booster Shot

Health advisers voted unanimously to recommend a half-dose of the vaccine for seniors, the immunocompromised and those at increased risk for COVID-19.

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One confusing decision is what Moderna dose to recommend in combination with other brands. Moderna has applied for its booster to be half the original dose, saying that's plenty for people who already received two full-strength shots. But the mix-and-match study used full-strength extra doses, and there's no way to know if a half-dose Moderna booster would trigger as strong a reaction in J&J recipients.

Allowing mixing and matching could make the task of getting a booster simpler for Americans and allow people who may have had adverse reactions to the initial dose to try a different shot.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.