Americans who received Johnson & Johnson or Moderna COVID-19 shots can choose a different booster from their original inoculation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommended the COVID-19 vaccine boosters on Thursday, said.
Director Rochelle Walensky of the CDC approved the recommendations late on Thursday, bringing the agency in line with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval Wednesday for the additional boosters and "mix-and-match" dosing methods.
Even with the widely circulating Delta version of the coronavirus, Walensky said, U.S.-approved vaccines "are all highly effective in reducing the likelihood of severe disease, hospitalization, and death".
Earlier in the day, a CDC advisory group had unanimously endorsed the use of COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
The booster launch, however, has the potential to be confusing, health officials and public health experts said.
As a result, the panel tried to come up with language that was as clear as possible while yet giving patients the option to receive the vaccine of their choice.
Dr. Beth Bell, a panelist and clinical professor at the University of Washington's department of global health in Seattle, said a really "critical piece of all of this is being straightforward and not dancing on the head of a pin, so that we don't further confuse the American people."
The guidelines allow anyone who received the J&J vaccine to receive a shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, which has been demonstrated in numerous tests to provide better protection.
As a result of their high efficacy in protecting against serious illness and fatality, some government scientists believe that booster shots are necessary to keep immunity at a maximum.
This is particularly true given that the highly contagious Delta variant can cause breakthrough infections in even fully vaccinated people.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to prescribe booster shots for anybody over 18 who has received the Johnson & Johnson's vaccine at least two months prior.
ACIP suggested a third vaccination for people 65 and older who had their second Moderna vaccine dose at least six months earlier, as well as for select people who were at high risk of serious disease or were exposed to the virus through their place of work.
