Booster Shots of J&J And Moderna To Be Given To General Population
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : October 25, 2021Booster shots of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have been given a green light by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday.
This comes after the FDA approved the booster shots of these companies on Wednesday following the same footsteps and guidelines stated for the Pfizer booster shots.
Booster Shots of J&J And Moderna To Be Given To General Population
CDC Director De Rochelle Walensky stated that all 3 covid 19 vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are safe and are working as expected which has been proved by 400 million vaccine doses that have been administered in the US.
These vaccines are helping in keeping people away from hospitals and from getting the virus.
The approval of booster shots comes as reassuring news to more than 15 million people in the US who took the Johnson & Johnson vaccines as it was said that the effectiveness of this vaccine is lower as compared to Pfizer and Moderna`s. Pablo J Sanchez who is a pediatrician and also a member of the CDC vaccine advisory panel said that people who took the first dose of Johnson & Johnson should go for their 2nd dose by Pfizer or of Moderna.
Helen Keipp Talbot from Vanderbilt University said that this mix and match of the vaccine is a good opportunity for people as they won’t have to sit back if their vaccine is not available. This will help people get vaccinated even if there is a shortage of one brand.
On Wednesday the FDA recommended that: –
- For people wanting to take Moderna`s booster shot they must be older than 65 years of age and must have completed 6 months after their 2nd dose, or it can be administered to people who work in health care system and are in danger of getting exposed to covid 19 virus.
- People above the age of 18 who took their first vaccine as Johnson & Johnson can take their 2nd dose after a period of 2 months.
- People who are eligible for booster shots and mix and match their booster dose if found eligible.
Dr. Janet Woodcock the FDA Commissioner says that many of the people who are fully vaccinated are now seeing the efficacy of the vaccine getting lower and these booster shots are the need of the hour for continued protection against the virus.
The difference in booster shots of Moderna and Pfizer is that the Moderna will be a half dose of the original vaccine, however, the booster shot of Pfizer will be a full dose of the vaccine.
Dr. Peter Marks says that these interchangeable booster shots are a good decision as this is what is done with many flu vaccines, as many people are not aware as to which brand vaccine they get for flu.
In the mix and match trials conducted in 9 groups of 50 people each, it has been observed that people who received Johnson & Johnson as their first dose followed by Moderna`s 2nd dose saw an increase in the antibody levels by 76 times in just a span of 2 weeks. While people who took Johnson & Johnson as the first dose and Pfizer as the 2nd dose saw antibody levels rise by 35 times in a period of 2 weeks as well. Many of the doctors and researchers support the mix and match as this is providing increased immunity in their patients.
As per the data from CDC roughly 105 million people have been fully vaccinated by Pfizer and 15 million people have been vaccinated by Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to late availability.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.