We’ll Probably Need Booster Shots for Covid-19. But When? And Which Ones?

Can I switch my vaccine brand when I get a booster?

Possibly. In fact, a lot of research on other diseases suggests that switching vaccines can strengthen boosters. “This is a tried and true concept from before Covid,” Dr. Lyke said.

Dr. Lyke and her colleagues are testing this mix-and-match option for boosters as part of their new trial. They are recruiting volunteers who have been fully vaccinated by any of the three vaccines authorized in the United States — Johnson Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

All of the volunteers are receiving a Moderna booster. The researchers will then observe how strong of an immune response it produces.

It’s possible that other vaccines still in clinical trials may work even better as Covid boosters. Novavax and Sanofi, for example, are both running clinical trials in the United States on vaccines that consist of viral proteins. Dr. Lyke and her colleagues have designed their study so that they can add more such vaccines to the mix later on.

“Behind the scenes, we’re working on other contracts so that we can move additional boosters into the trial,” she said. Those additional boosters may also include ones tailored for variants, like the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech.

Other mixed booster trials are also underway. In Britain, scientists are giving volunteers vaccines from AstraZeneca, CureVac, Johnson Johnson, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer-BioNTech and Valneva as boosters. ImmunityBio is testing its vaccine in South Africa as a booster for the Johnson Johnson vaccine, while Sanofi is preparing to test its vaccine as a booster for those from several other companies.

The N.I.H. trial may start delivering results as soon as the next few weeks. If fading vaccines and surging variants create a burst of new infections this winter, Dr. Lyke wants to have data that she can share with policymakers.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/science/covid-vaccine-boosters.html