J&J’s COVID-19 shot scores safety backing from CDC experts but booster need left for FDA

Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine presents greater benefits than it does safety risks, especially amid the quickly spreading Delta variant, a key CDC expert panel decided. However, the panel said that a ruling over the need for a booster added to all COVID shots will have to start with the FDA. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decision came after an hours-long discussion over a handful of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases reported after J&J’s jab. The independent group of experts were also tasked with reviewing the need for booster shots, specifically for people with compromised immune systems.