The Com-Cov study led by the University of Oxford suggests that a mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine plus booster combination produces higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and T-cells compared to getting the same brand of vaccine and booster.

The study specifically focused on the combinations of AstraZeneca and Pfizer, and then either Moderna or Novavax, which found the higher levels of antibodies and T-cells were associated with a mix-and-match response rather than the same brand.

A combination of vaccine doses and boosters from different brands could prove useful for countries where the facilities required to freeze mass amounts of vaccine doses are limited. A mix-and-match approach will help get more people vaccinated.

“We're showing ... you don't have to stick rigidly to receiving the same vaccine for a second dose ... and that if the programme will be delivered more quickly by using multiple vaccines, then it is okay to do so,” Oxford professor Matthew Snape, the person behind the trial dubbed Com-COV2, told Reuters.

The study also found mRNA vaccines are not the only way to get a good immune response to COVID-19 through vaccination, as was previously suggested. There were also no safety concerns raised with a mix-and-match vaccine plus booster method, as was previously feared.

It is still unclear how effective vaccines are against the Omicron variant, though more recent findings suggest that while Omicron may be vaccine-resistant it is also less severe than Delta.

There are also still questions about whether each new mutation will require its own booster, with some companies already prepping a vaccine that deals specifically with the Omicron variant.

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