Booster study reveals: This vaccine combination is the best Omicron protection

Created: 01/15/2022Updated: 01/15/2022 10:20 am

By: Julia Cuprakova

Which offers better protection against the omicron variant - three vaccinations with the same vaccine or a cross-vaccination?

A British study sheds light on this.

The omicron variant is spreading faster and faster in Germany, as

* reports in the current Corona ticker *.

It is therefore all the more important to get boosters in good time.

The third spade is not only considered good protection against the highly contagious omicron variant of the corona virus, but also saves you the way to the next test station.

Because: Strict corona measures* now apply throughout Germany, to which boosters are an exception and, for example, are exempt from the obligation to test.

But which vaccine is the best to be boosted with?

In Germany, the vaccines from Biontech or Moderna are currently available for the third peak.

However, the Corona vaccine from Novavax, which has been newly approved in the EU, is “better than vector vaccines for boosters”.* A study by English scientists is now examining the protection against omicron with three identical vaccines and cross-vaccinations – the latter perform significantly better.

New study from England: Booster cross-vaccination shows higher protection against omicron

Moderna or Biontech, which booster works better?

According to an English study, a particularly large number of antibodies are produced if the booster vaccination is carried out with a different vaccine than the primary immunization.

The German virologists can also gain a lot from cross-vaccination.

“The fact is that while every vaccine elicits an immune response against the coronavirus, it is always somewhat different.

That's why if I want to have a somewhat broad immune response, the combination of two different vaccines is always better than just giving one," explains epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs in a video on

.

After booster cross-vaccination: vaccination protection at a high level

Cross-vaccination is also a good choice in the fight against the omicron variant*, says the British health authority.

So if you get boosters with the same vaccine after two vaccinations with Biontech, the protective effect against an illness with Omikron increases to almost 70 percent after one week.

After ten weeks, however, it drops to around 50 percent.

The combination of Biontech as a first and second vaccination plus Moderna performs better.

After one week, the vaccination protection is 80 percent and it remains at a high level of around 70 percent five to nine weeks after the booster.

Booster vaccination: Biontech or Moderna?

Cross-vaccination or homologous vaccination?

Whether Biontech or Moderna, the choice of booster vaccine should not be given too much importance, as it is also said on

.

Because: "The decisive difference is not between cross-vaccination and homologous vaccination, but between two and three vaccinations," Ulrichs continues.

So: Better a little effective booster than none at all.

And many have no choice at all, because under 30-year-olds in Germany should always be boosted with Biontech, according to the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko).