Official Statement by City of Long Beach Health and Human Services Department Regarding FDA Emergency Use Authorization of Booster Doses for Moderna, Johnson & Johnson

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a booster of Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccines.

As with Pfizer boosters, the Moderna booster will be available six months after an eligible person receives their second dose. Eligible people are those 65 and older; those 18 to 64 years old with underlying medical conditions; and those ages 18 and older with high institutional or occupational risk, including healthcare workers, long term care facility residents, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers and workers in homeless shelters or prisons.

The Johnson & Johnson booster will be available to everyone 18 and older who has had their single dose at least two months prior.

The FDA also announced today that people can get a booster with a brand other than that which they received initially. Anyone who qualifies for a booster can receive the Moderna vaccine as a half dose; a full dose of Pfizer; or a full dose of Johnson & Johnson. The timing of the booster (two months or six months) depends on the original vaccine administered (Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer/Moderna).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)will be issuing more specific booster dose recommendations based on a thorough review of the evidence, which should come at the end of the week. Until that occurs, boosters of Moderna and Johnson and Johnson will not be administered by the City of Long Beach.

Once approved by ACIP, the Health and Human Services Department will communicate the options available for eligible groups to receive their booster. There is adequate supply of Pfizer, Moderna half doses and Johnson and Johnson.

Vaccine has proven to be effective, even against the widely circulating Delta variant, but the protection may decrease over time and federal health officials said a booster dose could be needed to prolong the vaccine's protective effects.

In Long Beach, the top priority of the Health and Human Services Department (Health Department)remains staying ahead of the virus and protecting our community from the spread of COVID-19. The best tool we have to keep the community healthy during this pandemic is the vaccine, and the Health Department offers ample opportunities to get free booster doses when they become available. The booster clinicsset up earlier this month have the capacity to administer boosters to all eligible people once ACIP approval is reached. And boosters will be available at all City-run vaccine sites, which run six days per week and have both day and evening appointments available.

Currently, boosters are offered to eligible people who have received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. Current approvals only allow those people to receive a Pfizer booster. The City also continues to administer third doses which are available in Long Beach for people who are moderate to severely immunocompromised.

The City of Long Beach emphasizes the ongoing urgency of everyone to get vaccinated. All approved vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe disease and death. Nearly all cases of severe disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 continue to occur among those not yet fully vaccinated.

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