Giving 2 Doses Of Different COVID-19 Vaccine Could Boost Immune Response

[Nevilledog]

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NPR
@NPR
Mixing different kinds of COVID-19 vaccine might help boost immune responses, but the idea has been slow to catch on. Here's a look at why — and how it works.

Giving 2 Doses Of Different COVID-19 Vaccine Could Boost Immune Response
Using two different COVID-19 vaccines is a bit like giving the immune system two pictures of the virus, maybe one face-on and one in profile.
npr.org
1:18 PM · May 5, 2021

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/05/993882203/giving-2-doses-of-different-covid-19-vaccine-could-boost-immune-response

Typically, if you get a COVID-19 vaccine that requires two doses, you should get two of the same vaccine. Two Pfizer shots, or two Moderna shots. Not one and then the other.

But in the future, that could change, either by necessity or by design.

This idea of using two types of vaccines isn't a new concept. It's known as heterologous vaccination, although there's a more colloquial term.

"In the U.K. at the moment, we're sort of calling it 'mix and match,' " says Helen Fletcher, a professor of immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She says shortages of a vaccine or concerns about side effects may induce health officials to adopt a mix-and-match strategy.

Health agencies in France and Germany are already encouraging people who've gotten the AstraZeneca vaccine to consider getting one of the mRNA vaccines for their second shot.

"So there's a practical reason why you would want to mix two different types of vaccine. But there is also a scientific reason as well," Fletcher says.

*snip*

[underpants]

1. Sounds like the $5 gift cards at Target for flu shots

I made $40 last year!

[Nevilledog]

2. Ha!

[soothsayer]

3. I wondered about this too.

[tanyev]

4. Interesting. Didn't that happen to a few people accidentally?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. A good friend got shots of both vaccines and had a high antibody count

I was on the board of trustees of my 2300 family temple for 11 years including two years as the president of the men's service auxiliary. The men's service auxiliary was the sponsor/chartering organization of my son's boy scout troop and we did a couple of service projects including a chicken soup cookoff and a temple wide garage sale.

One of my friends from the board and another past president of the men's service auxiliary called me to see how I was doing and if he can get some insurance business from my firm or my clients. This guy is in great shape and exercises a great deal. He can lift more furniture than 3 normal members of the men's service auxiliary.

It seems that my friend ended up getting one shot of each of Pfzier and Moderna. His first shot was Pfzier and he was called back for his second shot by the hospital where his doctor is on staff. He had left his CDC card at home and the staff could not find his name on this list but gave him a vaccine after he showed the texts scheduling his appointment. My friend's second vaccine was Moderna. My friend felt like crap the next day with fever, low energy, aches and headache but was back lifting weights the next day

The doctor discovered the mistake and had my friend come in for an anti-body test to see if he needed a second shot. According to the doctor, my friend had the highest level of COVID anti-bodies that he had seen. The doctor wants to monitor my friend and wants the CDC to consider having patients take one of each shot.

My friend thinks that his anti-body level may be due to the fact that he is in great shape. He got the vaccine because his wife is a doctor and therefore high risk