Both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson say their data supports boosters for their SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, NPR says.
It notes that advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration are meeting later this week to discuss the possibility of boosters for those companies' vaccines. Last month, the agency authorized a booster dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for individuals 65 years old and older and for younger individuals at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions or exposure at their jobs.
In documents released ahead of the meetings, Moderna says that its immune and side effect data supports a booster — its booster is a 50 microgram dose, as compared to the 100 microgram initial doses — among adults six months after their initial inoculation, NPR reports, noting that the company also cited the Delta variant in the need for a booster. Likewise, J&J says its data supports a booster six months after the initial shot, or as soon as two months for high-risk individuals, it adds.
The AP notes that the discussions for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters will be more complicated than those for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster, as the panel has to weigh the different dose for the Moderna booster and the timing of the J&J booster.