Fauci: Data for Moderna, Johnson & Johnson booster shots ‘a few weeks’ out

Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that data concerning people who have received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccinations could be expected soon as new recommendations surrounding the Pfizer vaccine and third-dose booster shots emerge.

“We are definitely paying strong attention to both the J&J people, and those who received a Moderna. And the actual data that we’ll get that third shot for the Moderna and second shot for the J&J is literally a couple to a few weeks away,” Fauci, who serves as President Biden‘s chief medical adviser, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We’re working on that right now to get the data to the [Food and Drug Administration], so they can examine it and make a determination about the boosters for those people,” Fauci added. 

Though Fauci acknowledged that people who have received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines may be “understandably feeling left out,” he made efforts to assure them that they would soon be included in conversations surrounding booster shots.

“They’re not being left behind by any means,” he said.

Last week, a federal advisory panel recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorize a third-round booster of Pfizer and BioNTech’s shot for vaccinated people in certain higher-risk groups. The recommendation applies to people over age 65 and others who are at increased risk for COVID-19. 

This recommendation is far less than President Biden’s previously announced plan to provide booster shots to all Americans eight months after their second shot.

At the time of that announcement, the Biden administration emphasized that the plan was still pending FDA approval.