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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
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CDC votes to recommend booster shots, mix-and-match vaccinations
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — The
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention met vir-
tually on Thursday, Oct. 21,
and debated what guidelines
will be in place regarding
who gets priority in receiv-
ing the booster shots, and
whether Americans even
need the vaccine.
With unanimous con-
sent, the organization voted
to recommend booster
shots to Americans in the
fi ght against COVID-19,
even as data on booster
doses — and especially
mix-and-match boosters —
was limited.
That
recommenda-
tion now goes up the CDC
chain of command for fi nal
approval before it becomes
the agency’s offi cial recom-
mendation to the public.
The CDC, under the FDA
Emergency Use Authoriza-
tion, recommended the use
of booster shots for those
who received the Mod-
erna vaccine more than six
months ago and belong to
risk categories such as those
65 years of age and older, or
those 18 through 64 years
of age at high risk of severe
COVID-19 or with frequent
institutional or occupational
exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
Similarly, the CDC rec-
ommended that individuals
18 years of age and older
who received the Johnson &
Johnson vaccine could get a
booster at least two months
after the initial dose.
As well, the FDA
approved mix and matching
— giving out vaccines from
diff erent manufacturers.
“Certainly, from my point
of view, I really appreciated
that we were fi nally able to
look at, consider, and rec-
ommend a mix-and-match
approach as part of our way
to boost people’s immunity,
especially for the people
who need it,” said Dr. Wil-
bur Chen, professor of med-
icine at the University of
Maryland during the meet-
ing’s closing statements.
The panel heard testi-
mony and fi ndings from
several experts in the fi eld
about the effi cacy of booster
shots. Studies show that the
effi cacy of both the Mod-
erna and Pfi zer vaccines
wane over time, prompting
questions about instituting
a third dose to help wake
up the immune system and
keep it alert to COVID-19
infections.
Data
presented
by
experts showed that the vac-
cine boosters provided addi-
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a student at Eastern
Oregon University on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend vaccine
booster shots on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
Sami Spriet, an Eastern Oregon University student, receives her fi rst dose of a COVID-19
vaccine on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to
recommend booster shots on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021.
tional immunity to COVID-
19 on top of the immunity
received in the one- and
two-shot series. The John-
son & Johnson vaccine, in
particular, benefi ted dramat-
ically from the booster shot,
showing a nearly 94% effi -
cacy rate as compared to its
far lower initial rate of 71%
against COVID-19 hospital-
izations, bringing it in line
with the Pfi zer and Moderna
off erings.
“Vaccines don’t save
lives, but vaccinations
do,” Dr. Grace Lee, chair
of the Advisory Commit-
tee on Immunization Prac-
tices, said during the meet-
ing. “Our recommendations
are one step of the way, but
it’s going to be so import-
ant, as everyone mentioned,
that in our implementation,
patients are truly educated
about the benefi t-risk bal-
ance based on their own per-
sonal situation.”
The CDC panel also
weighed data regarding the
risk of vaccines — with
contributing experts citing a
growing number of reports
about rare systemic side
eff ects of vaccination such
as Guillain-Barre syndrome,
blood clots and myocarditis
— an infl ammation of the
muscle.
The panel, which voted
on Oct. 21, spent consider-
able time going over rates
of myocarditis and pericar-
ditis symptoms following
a second dose of Moderna
and Pfi zer vaccines, partic-
ularly among young males
who received the mRNA
vaccines.
Dr. John R. Su, a member
of ACIP, noted that the inci-
dents of symptoms of myo-
carditis were higher than
background incidences of
the self-same symptom, but
that the incidence rate was
approximately 1 in 1 mil-
lion for developing symp-
toms, which could aff ect
up to 100 per 1,000,000 in
young males. The experts
further noted that 77% of
patients recovered from
their symptoms.
An NIH study cited in
the presentation stated that
mix-and-match
booster
shots showed no increase in
risk compared to instances
when vaccines of the same
type were given. Those risks
of myocarditis and Guil-
lain-Barre syndrome were
statistically
insignifi cant
when compared to using
the same vaccine for both
doses.
Experts who spoke to the
panel noted that the public
should be aware of the risks
and benefi ts associated with
the vaccine.
Second doses of the John-
son & Johnson vaccine,
which had previously been
stopped due to a rare blood
clotting disorder, showed a
signifi cantly smaller preva-
lence rate of clots follow-
ing a second dose. Incident
rates of blood clots stood at
15.1 cases per million fol-
lowing the fi rst dose and
1.9 cases per million after
the second.
The panel heard data that
showed that vaccine boost-
ers from Moderna and Pfi z-
er-BioNTech produced the
highest levels of immunity,
while the Johnson & John-
son booster provided the
least amount of protection.
Vaccines are available at
no cost at several locations.
Specifi c locations for vac-
cines can be found at www.
vaccines.gov/search or via
your local pharmacy.
Conatact Elaine at 541-263-1189
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This month we are honoring Sara Hayes,
Chair of the BHF Board. She has volunteered
in Early Head Start, at Community Events
and most recently in the Alt Ed Classroom.
Sara brings valuable knowledge and
expertise in all topics early childhood
education. She ALWAYS has a smile and
positive outlook! Thank
you Sara for all you do!
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