Pharma executives study whether mix and match vaccines creater stronger Covid immunity
Some pharmaceutical executives are starting to believe that mixing and matching different types of vaccines may provide stronger immunity against Covid-19.
Pierre Morgon, who sits on the boards of Vaccitech and Univercells, said that he is now convinced that one dose of an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine matched with one Pfizer or Moderna jab is the most effective combination.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Morgon said: “If you prime the immune system with a certain technology, you get a broader, higher and more lasting response if you boost with something aiming at the same target but based on a different technology.”
The UK government also launched a £7m study in February into whether mix and matching vaccines still provides protection against coronavirus.
The 13-month study, run by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC), will release its initial findings in the summer.
Morgon says he is convinced about the efficacy of mixing and matching jabs and even travelled to two different countries – Switzerland and France – to get two different vaccines.
Former marketing executive at French pharm firm Sanofi Karine Van Hasbrouck wrote on LinkedIn that mixing the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine “looks very promising in terms of immune response”.
Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London also told Bloomberg that “if you can mix and match, it’s going to look better, something that immunologists have known for decades”.
“I’d bet my house on the working hypothesis that it’s doable and would produce immunity that’s at least as good if not better,” he said.