The single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine “very likely” should’ve been two shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci said of the FDA’s thoughts on the topic.
On Friday, an independent Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend Johnson & Johnson booster shots. Committee member Dr. Michael Kurilla said Johnson & Johnson should “probably go forward” as a two-dose vaccine, and Fauci reiterated those comments Sunday in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week.”
“I think that they should feel good about it because 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.
Fauci also shared that people who’ve already gotten J&J should “feel good about it.”
“So I think that’s a very good thing. And I think it’s very favorable for those who have received the J&J vaccine,” he said. “I don’t see that as a problem at all.”
This doesn’t mean boosters are ready to go quite yet. Now, the FDA is expected to green light the recommendation, and the and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going to work on specifics, and that approval process may take place as early as this week.
