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On Thursday, an outside panel of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine experts is scheduled to vote on Moderna’s request to roll out booster shots of its COVID-19 vaccine for adults vaccinated at least 6 months ago. The vote will follow a meeting expected to last several hours discussing the safety and the need for an additional dose. However, most studies currently suggest the vaccine remains highly effective at protecting most people against severe COVID-19 infections and death. Moderna and some federal health officials said a third, smaller dose could boost protection amid the highly contagious Delta variant and a looming flu season. The FDA and CDC have already authorized Pfizer’s third shot for older and higher-risk Americans. The CDC said that at least 7.3 million vaccinated people have received a booster shot of Pfizer’s vaccine.

More than 1.5 million Americans have received a third dose of Moderna’s vaccine. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is also expected to vote Friday on Johnson & Johnson’s request to give a second dose to some high-risk Americans as early as 2 months after they were first vaccinated with the single-shot vaccine. The FDA’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks delivered his words last week at an event hosted by the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project. He said, “Our goal at the end of that is to hopefully have a harmonized approach to boosters for the three different vaccines, and hopefully try to harmonize making it a little bit simpler for our recommendation for boosters in the general population”.

This week’s meetings are just a key first step in the process of allowing booster doses for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. State and local health officials are planning for the possibility that Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s booster shots could be fully green-lit as early as next week. The FDA is expected to move quickly to decide on a formal authorization for the booster shots after the advisory panel’s vote. But the CDC will also first issue guidance that would allow their use before booster shots can be given. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is planning to meet next week to vote on those recommendations. The Biden administration has already moved to prepare vaccinators to start administering Moderna’s booster shots.