Janssen Covid-19 booster shot approved in Switzerland

Switzerland approves booster dose for Johnson & Johnson vaccine Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Medicines regulator Swissmedic has approved the booster of the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. 

“The second dose of the vaccine can be administered, at the earliest, two months after the first dose,” wrote Swissmedic in a statement on Monday. 

Swissmedic has also approved the use of Janssen as a booster for mRNA vaccines. It can be administered six months after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine. 

“This is the first time in Switzerland that an applicant has submitted clinical data on a mixed vaccination,” wrote Swissmedic. 

The Janssen viral vector model vaccine was first approved in March. In September the Swiss government signed a contract to purchase 150,000 doses. The vaccine is based on a human cold virus that contains the blueprint for the “spike” protein of the novel coronavirus.

The other two vaccines approved in Switzerland – Moderna and by Pfizer/BioNTech – use mRNA technology, a process that injects a fragment of the coronavirus blueprint into human cells to prompt the body to produce a defensive response.

Moderna boost

The Swiss government has exercised its option to purchase an additional seven million doses of Moderna’s booster vaccine for delivery in the second half of 2022, the company said on Monday. These vaccine, approved as booster in November, would be in addition to the first seven million doses ordered by the government for 2022. In total, this brings Switzerland’s order to 27.5 million doses of the mRNA vaccine.