Researchers looking into whether COVID-19 hybrid immunity could be a potential pandemic game-changer

With the FDA gearing up to decide if all Americans need booster shots, some researchers are pointing to preliminary data suggesting that mixing different vaccines could offer an even stronger immune boost.

For now, data is too sparse to support a mix-and-match strategy, experts say. But scientists are learning more about just how strong the immune response can be for someone who has previously been infected with COVID-19 then gets the vaccine -- a phenomenon called "hybrid immunity."

"The best thing we can hope for is that three vaccine doses will emulate the super immune response, found among those previously infected with the virus," said Dr. Paul Goepfert, an infectious disease physician and director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic. "This [type of immunity] will protect against variants in the future." ...