Fauci says ‘mix and match’ strategy for COVID-19 vaccine boosters still on the table

WASHINGTON — The federal government may determine in the coming weeks that Americans can “mix and match” their initial COVID-19 vaccine with booster shots from a different manufacturer, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday.

Ongoing studies suggest it may be safe and even preferable to boost one manufacturer’s product with a jab from another vaccine maker, said Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.

“We are in the process of doing those studies right now,” Fauci said in an interview with McClatchy. “We already have the data that was recently published actually of using Moderna as the boost for any of the other three vaccines – Moderna against Moderna, Moderna against Pfizer, and Moderna against J&J.”