US NIH Initiates Trial to Assess Mix-Match of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots: CNBC

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has started an early-stage clinical trial to assess what happens when a fully vaccinated adult with one type of COVID-19 vaccine is boosted with a different shot about three to four months later, reports CNBC.
The trial will include some 150 adults who have received one of the three COVID-19 vaccine regimens currently available under the FDA’s emergency use authorization - Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ, Moderna Inc’s MRNA, or Pfizer Inc PFE - BioNTech SE BNTX.
According to Federal health officials, people who have not yet received an authorized vaccine can also enroll in the trial in a separate group.
Those volunteers will receive two doses of Moderna’s vaccine and will be assigned to receive one of the three vaccines as a booster shot after 12-20 weeks.
“The results of this trial are intended to inform public health policy decisions on the potential use of mixed vaccine schedules should booster doses be indicated,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The trial comes as companies, and some scientists believe that a booster shot would be required, just like for the seasonal flu.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said last month that COVID-19 booster shots could be needed for fully vaccinated people within a year.
Last month, preliminary data from a U.K. trial testing mix and match COVID-19 vaccines showed that participants on the mixed schedule of vaccines incurred more frequent reactions than those on standard schedules.

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