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EU Regulators Recommend Booster of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

European Union health regulators recommended giving a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine in adults.

EU Regulators Recommend Booster of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
Vials of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen Covid-19 vaccine in California. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

European Union health regulators recommended giving a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine in adults.

Countries should consider offering an extra shot to people 18 and above at least two months after the initial dose, the European Medicines Agency said Wednesday. An advisory committee also concluded that the J&J shot can also be used as a follow-up to two doses of the Moderna Inc. or Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccines.

The decision could allow European countries to speed up their booster drives. The EMA said last week that mixing different Covid-19 shots for initial vaccine schedules and boosters can increase governments’ flexibility in responding to the new omicron variant. 

The regulator said the risk of thrombosis in combination with thrombocytopenia or other very rare side effects is being monitored since it’s not known.

A study in South Africa recently found that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine produced virtually no antibody protection against the omicron coronavirus variant in a laboratory experiment, showing the strain can get around one pillar of the body’s defenses. However, studies also showed that the shot largely prevents severe disease caused by omicron.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.