FDA Authorizes Mixing COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
WASHINGTON (CBS) - Federal regulators have voted to allow the mixing of COVID-19 booster shots Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration also cleared booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
Anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they initially received, the FDA said. Up until now, people who got the Pfizer vaccine were the only ones able to get a booster. Last week, a panel of FDA outside advisers voted to endorse the third doses of the Moderna and second doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
The approval comes as the CDC's Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices begins a two-day meeting Wednesday. According to its agenda, this CDC panel will review the FDA's decision on Moderna and Johnson and Johnson boosters on Thursday and vote on its recommendations.
The CDC panel is also expected to vote Thursday on mixing COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. If approved, that would mean, for example, that a person who was vaccinated with Johnson and Johnson could get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine as a booster.
The government does not recommend one shot over another.
A study from the National Institutes of Health found mixing vaccine brands was safe and, in some cases, produced a stronger antibody response.