The Food and Drug Administration on [October 20] authorized “mix-and-match” booster shots to increase antibodies to fight the coronavirus.
Under the FDA’s new recommendations, eligible patients could get any of the three available booster doses, regardless of which shot they received first. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel will consider further guidance on [October 21]. The panel is likely to recommend that people try to get a booster of the same brand as their initial series, but will allow for mixing and matching if that is not possible, according to federal health officials. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must approve the plan before people can get an extra shot.
Why are officials considering mix-and-match vaccines?
Related on the SLP
Allowing people to receive any vaccine as a booster may be a boon for people eager to get an extra shot ahead of family gatherings this winter. The decision could make it easier to find a booster shot and give health-care providers more flexibility in offering boosters to patients who previously received a different vaccine than the one they have in stock now.
“It just could potentially speed things up,” [University of Alabama infectious disease director Jeanne] Marrazzo said.
