Beaumont doctor expects Moderna vaccine to get FDA approval, followed by booster

FOX 2 - The FDA approved booster shots for people who are 65 years and older, those who are younger but may have a co-morbidity, and those who are at high risk of getting COVID-19.

On Thursday the CDC gave the okay for Pfizer booster shots for those 65 and older and at high-risk.

The decision comes as we wait for full FDA approval of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines

"It’s likely we’ll see the full approval for Moderna first followed by a decision on whether they need a third booster," said Dr. Matthew Sims.

Sims is the director of infectious disease research at Beaumont Health, and says the timeline on full authorization for J & J is less clear.

"Right now it looks like the Moderna vaccine has a little more longevity against Delta than Pfizer does," he said. "They’re both still really good for severe disease."

A number of people are left wondering when they may be eligible for a booster of the vaccine type they’ve already gotten.

FOX 2: "You have Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer is now approved for a booster, but you would probably need a booster more if you had the (one-shot) J & J. What do you do in that circumstance?"

"It’s hard to say," Sims said. "J & J as you said, it was not as active as Pfizer or Moderna, even in the beginning," Sims said. "It was approved by (Emergency Use Authorization) because we needed more vaccines to control this pandemic but it was never quite as good.

"Now it may not be quite as good because it was only one shot instead of two."

The bottom line is, if you got Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, the FDA has not approved getting a Pfizer booster.

"The FDA has not approved it, and it’s understandable why someone might want to do that, but the FDA has not approved that," Sims said.

There are more regulatory hurdles that booster shots must clear.