Dec 7 Reuters - The European Union's health bodies on Tuesday recommended that mixing and matching approved COVID- 19 vaccines be done for both initial courses and booster doses, as the region battles rising cases ahead of the holiday season.
Evidence suggests that the combination of viral vector vaccines and mRNA vaccines produces good levels of antibodies against the coronaviruses that cause COVID- 19, the European Medicines Agency EMA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC said in a statement. A major study on Monday said that a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots followed by a Moderna vaccine nine weeks later induced a better immune response.
The United States has given the green light to mix and match, while the World Health Organization is evaluating the approach.
The world is scrambling to trace the Omicron variant as governments are imposing new restrictions on the long-evity of protection offered by vaccines. The vaccine rollout for 5 -- 11 year olds will start next week in Europe.
The use of heterologous schedules may allow flexibility in terms of vaccine options, as well as reduce the impact on the vaccine rollout if a vaccine is not available for any reason, according to the EMA and ECDC.
The recommendations are intended to help EU member states with their own vaccine campaigns before any formal EU-wide approval, as the health agencies continue to study data on mixing vaccines.