Researchers discovered that taking one dose of Pfizer and a second dose of Moderna nine weeks later produces a better immune system response than just two doses of the same vaccine.
The study, conducted by researchers at Oxford University, examined the immune system responses of 1,070 subjects who took some combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novavax and Moderna vaccines, Fox News reports.
Individuals who received AstraZeneca followed by Moderna or Novavax also produced higher antibodies and T-cell responses than those who received two doses of AstraZeneca.
“Encouragingly, all these schedules generated antibody concentrations above that of the licensed and effective two dose Oxford-AstraZeneca schedule,” Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Vaccinology at Oxford and chief investigator of the trial, said Monday.
“When it comes to cellular immunity, having a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine followed by any of the other study vaccines generates a particularly robust response.”
Americans are currently able to mix and match vaccines when getting their booster shots under current CDC recommendations.
On Tuesday, EU health officials endorsed mixing and matching as well, saying it may “induce an expanded breadth of immune responses.”
