On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to provide more detailed guidance, with agency director Rochelle Walensky signing off on the new recommendations.
The guidelines for Moderna vaccine recipients eligible for a booster shot mirror those set late last month for people who got the Pfizer vaccine.
One difference: The Moderna booster will be a half-dose of the original vaccine, while the Pfizer booster is a full dose, according to the FDA.
The agency also authorized “mix-and-match” booster doses after reviewing clinical trial data showing that an extra shot of any vaccine will provide added protection to anyone who has developed vaccine immunity, the FDA says.
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“In many ways, as we move to deal with this as an infectious disease that we have to deal with, being able to interchange these vaccines is a good thing. It’s like what we do with the flu vaccine. Most people don’t know what brand flu vaccine they receive,” Peter Marks, M.D., director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said during a media briefing.
“If people have concerns, they should ask their providers and there might be reasons why an individual provider might decide to recommend a different booster based on side effects that were seen [during their initial series of shots].”