Cross-Vaccination Between Different Manufacturers Allowed
Vaccinations to Begin Soon After CDC Recommendation, Possibly This Week
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has approved booster shots for individuals vaccinated with the Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. Accordingly, those who have completed vaccination with Janssen and Moderna vaccines in the U.S. have been added to the list of booster shot recipients. These booster recipients are expected to receive either the same vaccine they initially received or a different manufacturer’s vaccine approved by U.S. health authorities as a heterologous booster.
On the 20th (local time), the FDA issued a statement announcing the approval of booster shots for those who have completed vaccination with the Janssen and Moderna vaccines in the U.S. This formal approval was anticipated following the unanimous recommendation from the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee to administer booster shots to recipients of these two vaccines.
The FDA recommended that Janssen vaccine recipients receive a booster shot within 2 months after their initial vaccination, and Moderna vaccine recipients within 6 months. Accordingly, booster shots will be provided to approximately 15 million Janssen vaccine recipients and 69 million Moderna vaccine recipients in the U.S. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also expected to officially announce its recommendation within this week, which could lead to the booster shot campaign gaining momentum as early as this week.
In particular, unlike other vaccines, the Janssen vaccine is a single-dose regimen, and studies have shown that immunity can drop sharply to as low as 3% six months after vaccination, prompting ongoing medical recommendations for additional doses.
Those who have completed vaccination with these two vaccines will receive either the same vaccine they initially received or a heterologous booster shot with a different manufacturer’s vaccine approved in the U.S. Previously, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) submitted research results to the FDA vaccine advisory committee showing that Janssen vaccine recipients who receive a Moderna booster can develop antibody levels up to 76 times higher, indicating that heterologous boosting, known for its high immune efficacy, is expected to be actively implemented.
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