FDA panel votes to authorize booster shots for J&J vaccine
An independent FDA panel has voted to move forward with Johnson & Johnson vaccine boosters.
![PHOTO: Dr. Maureen Mays volunteers her time to give J&J COVID-19 vaccines during a "A shot for a shot" event offering a free cocktail or beer to get a J&J COVID-19 vaccine at Kelly's Olympian, a landmark bar, in Portland on June 3, 2021.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/jandj-vaccine-ap-rc-211015_1634319731083_hpMain.jpg)
The panel’s decision on J&J was broader than for Moderna and Pfizer as it applies to all J&J recipients 18 and older. The timing is also different: The J&J booster can be administered two months after the initial shot.
The 19-person panel voted unanimously.
Johnson & Johnson's one dose has shown to be 85% effective against severe illness, but adding a second dose boosted that to 100%.
Penny Heaton, a J&J executive, acknowledged Friday that J&J’s efficacy is below the mRNA vaccines but said they would be on par if they used a booster.
-ABC News' Anne Flaherty, Cheyenne Haslett, Sasha Pezenik