Enlarge image
Certain combinations of different vaccines seem to work very well
Photo: Camilo Erasso / Long Visual Press / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
Cross-vaccinations can be useful not only in the event of delivery bottlenecks for certain vaccines.
From an immunological point of view, too, it is even more beneficial to use different vaccines for the full vaccination against Covid-19.
A new study from Great Britain, which appeared in the journal "The Lancet", supports this assumption.
1070 study participants, four vaccines
Accordingly, the combination of different vaccines - a so-called heterologous vaccination scheme - proved to be particularly effective.
When people received the first dose of the mRNA vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer or the vector vaccine from AstraZeneca and were vaccinated nine weeks later with the vaccine from Moderna as the second dose, the immune response was better than with a homologous vaccination schedule, i.e. with two doses of the same vaccine.
more on the subject
Scientists on the point of boosting: "The immunization is not complete after the second vaccination" By Jörg Römer
1070 people took part in the study.
The participants were 50 years or older.
It should be demonstrated that a mixture of two vaccines does not produce a noticeably worse response than the standard vaccination schedule with one vaccine.
This type of study is known as a non-inferiority study.
Four vaccines were included: the mRNA vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, the vector vaccine from AstraZeneca and the protein vaccine from Novavax, which has not yet been approved in Germany.
"A really good immune response"
"We got a really good immune response across the board," said Matthew Snape, who works on vaccinations at Oxford University and is a co-author of the study.
"We show that you don't have to stick rigidly to the second dose of the same vaccine and that it is okay if the program can be completed faster by using more vaccines."
more on the subject
Premium vaccine: Why you can safely get boosted with ModernaBy Viola Kiel
New virus variant: How quickly can the Omikron vaccines get onto the market? By Claus Hecking
Data on corona immunity: How vaccination protectsBy Marcel Pauly
These results are also relevant for countries in which the vaccination campaigns are not yet well advanced.
It is possible to combine different brands for the first and second vaccination.
This allows a certain flexibility, for example when stocks of a vaccine are running out.
The study showed: If you combine a first dose of Biontech / Pfizer with a second dose of Moderna, the vaccination protection is better than after two doses of Biontech / Pfizer.
Even after a first dose of AstraZeneca, a dose of Moderna or Novavax elicited higher antibody and T-cell responses than a second dose of AstraZeneca.
A combined vaccination schedule is already in use in many countries.
On this Tuesday, the European Medicines Agency EMA and the EU health authority ECDC also spoke out in favor of cross-vaccinations against Covid-19.
The combination of viral vector vaccines and mRNA vaccines gives good antibody levels and a stronger T-cell response than the use of the same vaccine, the authorities said.
This applies regardless of whether it is about the basic vaccination or the booster vaccination.
Cross vaccinations were also well tolerated.
vki / dpa / Reuters
