The doctor’s hands are wearing medical gloves and filling the syringe with the Covid 19 vaccine. The nurse holds a syringe and a new coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare and medicine concept.
The results of the UW Medicine COVID-19 vaccine mix and match study were reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team before the group decided to authorize the mix and match booster injection.
“[The] The data we have today shows that it is safe and effective in generating a strong immune response,” said Christine Johnston, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Department of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine. At this point, we see that this is a safe choice. “
On October 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the expansion of the booster campaign in the United States, which began with an additional dose of Pfizer vaccine in September.
Tens of millions of Americans are now eligible for boosters and officially allow “mix and match” injections-this makes it easier to obtain another dose of vaccine, especially for those who have side effects on a brand but still want People who have received proven vaccination protection.
In the University of Washington study, Johnston said that every possible initial vaccine series is combined with an alternative booster (Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine) and monitored through research. Apart from the occasional soreness or fatigue associated with the original dose, no side effects were observed. UW Medicine is one of 10 locations that conducted this research, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
“Especially the mix-and-match strategy does provide people with a lot of choices,” Johnston said. “There is a preliminary study, and the preliminary results show that no matter what kind of main vaccine series you are vaccinating, any type of booster vaccination does indeed increase the immune response. This means that you can really accept any booster and trust you There will be a strong response.”
Although all three types of vaccines in the United States are now authorized to use boosters, there are differences in their dosages. The full doses of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson boosters are equal to their original series, and the CDC found that Moderna booster injections provide adequate protection at half doses compared to their original series.
FDA officials said they want the enhanced guidelines to be as flexible as possible, because many people don’t remember which brand of vaccine they are receiving.
“It is a good thing to be able to interchange these vaccines—just like we did with flu vaccines,” said Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA. “Most people don’t know what brand of flu vaccine they are getting.”
This health series is funded by the Washington State Department of Health, which has no editorial opinions or supervision of these contents.
