FDA authorizes more boosters

Before Americans roll up their sleeves for mix-and-match COVID-19 booster shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel and finalize its recommendations. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave a thumbs up to additional doses of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The agency already approved Pfizer boosters last month.

How will mix-and-match shots work? Anyone who got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine can receive a booster dose of any approved COVID-19 shot two months after initial vaccination. Pfizer and Moderna recipients may also get any booster, but they must wait six months and belong to a high-risk group. Studies have shown a booster shot at two months significantly improves the effectiveness of the J&J vaccine, which was slightly less effective than the other two to begin with. The J&J shot also was linked to rare cases of blood clots, and researchers developed it using cells lines derived from the tissue of aborted babies.

Dig deeper: Read John Dawson’s report in Beginnings about what doctors learned about blood clots and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.