A major British study on receiving two different doses of COVID-19 vaccines has revealed that individuals who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine followed by a second dose of the Moderna vaccine after nine weeks had a stronger immune response than others, according to results published on Monday.
Matthew Snape, a professor at the University of Oxford, stated, "We discovered a really good immune response... in fact, stronger than receiving two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine."
The study's results offer hope for low- and middle-income countries that may need to administer vaccine doses from different manufacturers due to instability or dwindling vaccine supplies.
Snape added, "The study shows that there is no strict need to provide the same type of vaccine for the second dose... if the vaccination process is expedited by using different vaccines, that's fine."
Researchers at the University of Oxford noted that if a person receives a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a second dose of the Moderna or Novavax vaccine, the body produces more antibodies and T cells than what is produced by two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The study, which involved 1,070 volunteers, also indicated that a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine followed by a second dose of the Moderna vaccine yields better results than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
According to the study published in The Lancet medical journal, there are no safety concerns.
