An expert panel in the US has voted unanimously recommending authorization of a second shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee opined that the safety and efficacy evidence were in favor of a second dose. The recommendation may be modified by the FDA and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and an emergency use authorization may come within days to weeks.

Some of the independent experts suggested that while the company had applied for authorization of a booster shot, a second J&J jab should rather be considered as an additional dose which is required to achieve full vaccination. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert from Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, said that according to him, this was always a two-dose vaccine and it is difficult to recommend this as a one-dose vaccine… (NDTV – AFP, October 16, 2021)