The UK is planning a clinical trial for next year to test whether giving people doses of different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines will provide better protection than two doses of the same vaccine, according to the Guardian.
The trial, it says, is to begin in January if the vaccine from AstraZeneca and Oxford University gains authorization. Participants would receive one dose of that vaccine and one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which already has authorization in the UK. The Guardian adds that if the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine from Moderna receives authorization, it too will be included in the trial.
Kate Bingham, outgoing chair of the UK's vaccine taskforce, says the concept is known as a heterologous prime-boost. "It means mix and matching vaccines," she says.
The Guardian adds that "the idea is to combine them, in whichever order, to help the immune system respond more powerfully to SARS-CoV-2."