US FDA panel backs Moderna coronavirus booster shot for older and high-risk people
- The pharmaceutical firm is seeking authorisation for a half-strength third dose containing 50 micrograms of vaccine
- The group of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will weigh whether to make a similar recommendation for J&J’s vaccine on Friday
If the FDA signs off on Moderna’s booster, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will make specific recommendations on who should get the shots. CDC advisers are expected to meet next week.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met on Thursday to consider the additional dose of the Moderna vaccine and will weigh whether to make a similar recommendation for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine on Friday.
The vote to back Moderna’s booster was 19-0.
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Moderna is seeking authorisation of a booster that contains 50 micrograms of vaccine, half of strength of its regular dose but still higher than the Pfizer/BioNTech shot at 30 micrograms.
In addition to 65 and over and those at risk of severe Covid-19, the expert panel voted to recommend authorisation of a third round of the Moderna vaccine for individuals ages 18 to 64 at risk of frequent exposure to coronavirus infections due to their jobs.
The shots would be administered to people at least six months after the initial two-shot inoculation.
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Both agencies signed off on Pfizer/BioNTech boosters for certain high-risk adults last month.
Since then, nearly 9 million people have received a third shot, the CDC reported on Wednesday.
