A U.S study, on Wednesday, concluded that Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine recipients are better off as recipients of booster shots from either Pfizer or Moderna.
The study was carried out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focusing on the “mixing and matching” of Covid vaccines, according to CNBC.
The study considers the pros and cons of using different boosters and included more than 450 adults who have received one of the three regimens currently available in the United States: J&J’s, Moderna’s or Pfizer’s.
What this means
During the study, some volunteers were given an extra shot of their original vaccine while others were given boosters from a different company and antibody levels were measured two and four weeks after.
The result revealed that although all the combinations showed higher antibody levels, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s boosters appeared to boost the highest antibody levels.
The study revealed that recipients of Moderna or Pfizer’s original vaccines could easily swap third doses; the results were about the same and volunteers who had initially received the J&J vaccine got better immune responses when they got booster shots made by Pfizer or Moderna.
Serious side effects tied to the additional shots were not recorded. Although, two participants vomited after their boosters after one had received Moderna and the other J&J.
According to the researchers, “These data suggest that if a vaccine is approved or authorized as a booster, an immune response will be generated regardless of the primary Covid-19 vaccination regimen. Heterologous prime boost strategies may offer immunological advantages to optimize the breadth and longevity of protection achieved with currently available vaccines.”
