The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved the “mix and match” strategy to be used for people who need a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccines after their initial doses.
“The FDA has determined that the known and potential benefits of the use of a single heterologous booster dose outweigh the known and potential risks of their use in eligible populations,” a statement by the agency said.
The three vaccines approved in the United States are Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Now a single dose of any of the three vaccines can be used to complete the vaccination following the initial dose of any different vaccine.
As per the new decision, people who are 65 or older and recieved two shots of Moderna, over 18 and at high risk of Covid, or over 18 and have high occupational schedule, are now eligible to take the booster dose.
All the adults who have taken one shot of J&J vaccine over two months before are also eligible to take the booster dose.
Earlier, only those who have weak immune or are elderly or at high risk groups and had got the Pfizer vaccine initially were only eligible to take the booster dose.
The decision has been supported by the data emerged from research reviewed by the FDA.
“Today’s actions demonstrate our commitment to public health in proactively fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic,” the FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.
The statement also cautioned against the rare side effected linked to the vaccines.
The possible side effects with which the messenger RNA vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, have been associated with are increased risks of inflammatory heart conditions, myocarditis and pericarditis, mainly in younger males.
While the J&J vaccine has been associated to a serious and rare type of blood clot in combination with low blood platelets one or two weeks after taking the jan. The risk is highest among females aged between 18-49 years.
