Trial aims to answer COVID-19 booster shot questions

UW Medicine is launching a trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. 

Fully vaccinated participants in the mix-and-match trial will be given a single booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, regardless of which vaccine brand they received initially. All participants in the trial will be routinelty monitored for about a year after receiving the booster vaccine dose.

“Right now, we're just trying to gather that evidence base so that we are prepared for the fall or whatever comes next with this virus,” says Dr. Christine Johnston, principal investigator and an associate professor of medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“We want to have the evidence about whether boosters are effective or not.”

To be eligible for the trial, you must:

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Have become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no less than 12 weeks ago; or be willing to receive an initial COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to the booster
• Have not tested positive for COVID-19
• Not be currently pregnant or breastfeeding
• Not have a history of serious reactions to vaccines

Click here to find more information on UW Medicine's booster COVID-19 vaccine trial.