CDC Panel Backs Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Booster Shot

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Thursday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP, has recommended its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for all eligible individuals who receive an authorized COVID-19 vaccine.

The COVID-19 vaccine was recommended as a booster for adults aged 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine at least two months earlier. A booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was also recommended for eligible adults at least six months following the second dose of an authorized mRNA vaccine.

The ACIP recommendation has been forwarded to the Director of the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for review and adoption.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine provided 94 percent protection in the U.S. against COVID-19 when given as a booster following the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the company said.

The company's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for adults aged 18 and older on February 27, 2021.

On October 20, 2021, the FDA granted emergency use authorization for a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 18 and older at least two months following primary vaccination with single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine; and for eligible individuals who received a different authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.