The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that using different types of vaccines together, known as heterologous vaccination, can provide protection against COVID-19.
Sucrose
“These vaccines are very similar,” says Jamie K. Alan, Pharm.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology at Michigan State University. “They differ in the inactive ingredients, but the mode by which they work is nearly identical.”
Even though the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are similar, mixing them is not recommended.
The CDC specifically says in interim guidance that the COVID-19 vaccines are “not interchangeable,” adding that, “the safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated.” Instead, the agency says, both doses of the vaccine series with an mRNA vaccine should be completed with the same product.
Updated Feb 06, 2021 | 12:34 IST
Researchers in the UK have launched a new trial that will see if mixing different COVID-19 vaccines can offer protection against the virus, including the new variants of COVID-19. Combining COVID-19 vaccine shots: Will it protect us against new variants of coronavirus? | Photo Credit: iStock Images
Key Highlights
Researchers in the UK have launched a clinical trial to see if mixing different COVID-19 vaccines could boost immune response
The Com-Cov study would look at 800 volunteers aged 50 or older who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine shot
The trial will test participants’ immune responses to receiving one shot of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and one shot of Pfizer-BioNTech jab