FDA panel supports J&J COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for all Americans who got a first dose

Penny Heaton, head of the vaccines global therapeutic area for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson company that developed the vaccine, agreed the effectiveness of their vaccine varied across study different groups, though it was "consistent and durable" within groups – in other words, it didn't decrease with time.

Adding a second dose 2- to 6-months after the initial J&J shot would provide the same effectiveness as the mRNA vaccines without their fading protection, Heaton told the committee Friday.

The two mRNA vaccines are more effective, even considering that their strength seems to wane over time, said Dr.

“The effectiveness or protection with a single dose of the J&J vaccine is not equivalent to protection with either two doses of an mRNA vaccine, and certainly not in those groups who have now been authorized to receive a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine.".

To counter the decline in effectiveness over time, the committee has already approved booster shots for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines and meet certain conditions. .

The CDC continues to recommend that people receive extra doses of the same vaccine they got the first time

After the vote on the J&J second vaccine dose, the committee considered a study by the National Institutes of Health posted Wednesday which looked at mixing and matching booster doses of vaccine

It included nearly 500 people and found that the J&J shot followed by either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine as a booster produced a stronger immune response than two doses of J&J. For people who got either the Pfizer or Moderna two-dose series, a booster dose of either mRNA vaccine was effective

So far, 8.8 million Americans have received a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine