State health officials have been compelled to pass a "mix and match" legislation after President Biden announced a nationwide booster campaign in August, raising concerns that supplies of certain vaccines could run low in some areas.
"The No. 1 thing I heard from state health secretaries was the need for permissive language around a mix-and-match approach," said Dr. Nirav D. Shah, president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
"From a public health perspective, there's a clear need in some situations for individuals to receive a different vaccine," said Dr. Amanda Cohn, a high-ranking official at the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.
The FDA in September passed a Pfizer booster shot for those over 65 years old and other high-risk individuals, while the same type of guidance was confirmed last week for the Moderna vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which unlike Moderna and Pfizer only required one initial dose, has also been approved for a vaccine booster shot.
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On Sunday, the news came as Dr. Anthony Fauci signaled his belief that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should have been given in two doses, similar to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
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"What the advisers to the FDA felt is that, given the data that they saw, very likely this should have been a two-dose vaccine to begin with," Fauci said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week."
Fauci also backed the idea of mixing and matching vaccines, saying those who had originally received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would likely have the flexibility to obtain a Moderna or Pfizer booster shot.
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Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, agreed that health officials should have the flexibility to mix and match boosters.
It seems opinions have changed after a new NIH report discovered that people who got J&J's COVID-19 vaccine had higher antibody amounts if their booster shot was from Pfizer or Moderna.
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The report found that when recipients of the one-shot J&J vaccine received a second dose, their antibody levels increased four-fold over two weeks.
Similarly, when they received a Moderna booster, their antibody levels spiked 76-fold over the same period.
A booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine also raised antibody levels 45-fold over the course of two weeks - higher than the J&J shot, but not as high as the Moderna shot.
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