CDC recommends mRNA vaccine over J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated its recommendations for COVID-19 prevention, expressing a clinical preference for people to receive mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) over Johnson & Johnson’s viral vector vaccine.

On December 16th, the CDC endorsed the ACIP’s updated recommendations, stating that the Committee’s decision followed discussions on the latest evidence regarding vaccine safety, efficacy, rare side effects, and the US vaccine supply.

CDC Director Walensky advised that people who received the J&J vaccine should get an mRNA vaccine booster shot two months later – she added that people who received the J&J vaccine over four weeks ago were not at risk for side effects.

According to the CDC, individuals unable to, or hesitant to, receive mRNA vaccines would continue to have access to the J&J COVID-19 vaccine.

A CDC press release stated, “Given the current state of the pandemic both here and around the world, the ACIP reaffirmed that receiving any vaccine is better than being unvaccinated.”