Extra COVID vaccine approved for those with weak immune systems

Late Thursday, U.S. regulators announced the approval of COVID-19 booster shots for people with immune deficiencies due to disease, certain medical conditions or organ transplants.

University of Minnesota vaccine expert, Dr. Marc Jenkins, explained to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the booster is for people who’ve received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

"People with weakened immune systems because of disease, medical conditions or organ transplants don’t respond as well to the two-shot series," Jenkins said. "And that’s because their immune system has been compromised — not totally — but partially compromised."

Today, FDA amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to allow for the use of an additional dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. https://t.co/MYoTvX82lM pic.twitter.com/cqwF5j8pYp

— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) August 13, 2021

Jenkins said the research, so far, has focused on those with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for a reason.

"Right now, how those with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have responded is less clear," Jenkins said. "We haven’t had a large clinical trial of the J&J first and then followed by an RNA vaccine boost, and so we really need that kind of trial to be done before we can, you know, the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] is ever going to be thinking about that."

"After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines," Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

The action doesn’t apply to those who aren’t immunocompromised.

Separately, U.S. health officials are continuing to closely monitor if and when average people’s immunity wanes enough to require boosters for everyone — but for now, the vaccines continue to offer robust protection for the general population.