The Food and Drug Administration is moving soon to allow people to receive booster shots that are different from their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the people familiar with the matter said the FDA would not recommend any boosters over others, but would allow people to receive a booster shot that is different from the shot they previously received.
The FDA is seeking to authorize mixing and matching as soon as this week, people familiar with the matter said. The FDA is also expected to approve Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson boosters this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The FDA has authorized additional doses of vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and partners BioNTech SE and Moderna for people with compromised immune systems. The FDA has also authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech booster for seniors and others at high risk of serious illness.
One of the people said that allowing mix-and-match would require modification of the labels of individual Covid-19 vaccines so that either of them can be used as boosters for other authorized vaccines, which The FDA is working.
The mixing and matching of vaccines has emerged as an issue, as the US has launched a booster campaign to increase the immune protection generated by the vaccines, particularly against the infectious delta variant.
Some doctors and health officials have pressed for mix and matching to simplify the logistics of booster rollout and to ensure that people who want boosters have access to them regardless of their initial vaccine.
Preliminary data also suggests that mixing and matching may provide greater protection than sticking to the same vaccine, as in the case of people taking a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
The FDA’s plan to allow mixing and matching was first reported by the New York Times.
The FDA’s expert advisory committee last week discussed mixing and matching after preliminary results from the National Institutes of Health found that doing so gives people a good immune response, especially for those who took a single-dose J&J. received the vaccine.
Several panel members said they would soon support mix and match, while others indicated they would like to see more data.
A key question regulators are still working out is whether people receiving Pfizer Inc. or Johnson & Johnson shots should receive a 100 microgram or 50 microgram booster dose of Moderna Vaccine, if they choose to receive it. Said one of the people familiar.
The person said that people who originally received two 100 microgram doses of the Moderna shot would get a 50 microgram booster.
The NIH study that reported the FDA’s decision only tested boosting with a 100 microgram Moderna dose.
The NIH study found that an additional dose of the same vaccine as the primary series increased antibody levels 4- to 20-fold, while mixing and matching the primary vaccines and booster doses increased antibody levels 6- to 76-fold. .
This story has been published without modification to the text from a wire agency feed
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