Washington Post: “Tens of millions of Americans can sign up to get Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters beginning Friday after the nation’s top public health official endorsed recommendations from expert advisers that the shots are safe and effective at bolstering protection against the coronavirus
“The green light from Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, means that nearly 100 million Americans at risk of severe disease can choose any of the three boosters now authorized in the United States regardless of their original shot. ‘These recommendations are another example of our fundamental commitment to protect as many people as possible from covid19,’ Walensky said in a statement Thursday night several hours after receiving unanimous recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. ‘The evidence shows that all three covid19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe — as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given. And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating delta variant.
“Walensky’s action — following a green light — largely fulfills the administration’s August promise to make boosters of all three vaccines available to Americans, albeit a month later than promised and for a smaller group. The administration’s focus on boosters came as the highly contagious variant sickened millions and killed tens of thousands, and also reflected concern about waning immunity from the vaccines.