The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday cleared booster shots of Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccines, NBC News reports.
In addition, the CDC approved giving people the freedom to mix and match any of the three vaccines approved for use in the US, the agency said in a statement.
The approval came after an influential Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee unanimously endorsed boosters of Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines.
The agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the Moderna booster for elderly people and at-risk adults six months after they complete their primary series of shots, bringing it in line with the distribution plan for Pfizer and BioNTech's booster.
It also endorsed J&J boosters for everyone 18 and older who received the initial shot at least two months ago.
"The evidence shows that all three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are safe – as demonstrated by the over 400 million vaccine doses already given," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that embraced the committee's recommendations. "And, they are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant."
The CDC approval came a day after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition, the FDA said Americans can use the “mix and match” method and choose a different shot than their original inoculation as a booster.
Last week, the FDA’s advisory panel unanimously voted to recommend booster shots of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness or occupational exposure to the virus.
A day later, the panel also voted in favor of a second shot of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine.
Last month, the FDA authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for older adults and some Americans at high-risk of illness.
FDA officials had suggested last week that they were considering lowering the recommended age for booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to as young as 40, based on data from Israel, where Pfizer booster shots have already been administered broadly.
A US source told CNN on Tuesday that the US government likely will soon recommend booster shots to people as young as 40.