U.S. CDC advisers meet on Moderna, Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 boosters, “mix and match” booster dose

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 — Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met on Thursday to evaluate booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and “mix and match” booster dose for currently available approved COVID-19 vaccines.
The meeting of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices came a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as the “mix and match” regimen.
The CDC panel will discuss and vote on whether to recommend the booster shots and allow for mixing and matching booster doses with a different vaccine.
The panel is also scheduled to hear safety updates about the rare risk of inflammatory heart problems such as myocarditis among recipients of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, especially in men ages 18 to 24, according to media reports.
On Wednesday, the FDA authorized the use of a single booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 6 months after completion of the primary shots to people 65 years of age and older, 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19, and 18 through 64 years of age with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
As for the Johnson & Johnson booster dose, the FDA authorized the use of a single booster dose at least 2 months after completion of the single-dose primary regimen to individuals 18 years of age and older.
A single booster dose of any of the available COVID-19 vaccines may be administered as a “mix and match” booster dose following completion of primary vaccination with a different available COVID-19 vaccine, according to the FDA. – XINHUA