NORFOLK, Va. — On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval for people to mix between vaccines for the booster shots. The announcement brought confusion to folks expecting to get their booster shots and the mixing vaccine safety, especially since people could not mix when the vaccine first rolled out.
Many people can’t wait to get their COVID-19 booster shot even if it’s mixed with another vaccine.
“We’re seeing a lot of people turn out for it, looking for it, confusion, all of that stuff," said AshBritt Vice President Jason Fawcett.
The company operates out of the Military Circle Mall COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Norfolk. Fawcett said people cannot get the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson boosters or a vaccine mix of the two at this time, even if the CDC approves the shots Thursday.
“Forty-eight to 72 hours from the time it’s given to us from the state. I feel like we’ll be able to meet the demand or the public to get it into arms," said Fawcett.
13News Now asked University of Virginia Infectious Disease Professor Dr. Bill Petri about the safety of mixing vaccines. Petri said mixing is safe because of an intensive study conducted at the University of Maryland.
“They actually tried every single combination of the three vaccines that we have. So it will be like nine different ways of mixing and matching vaccines and the really good news is, it works great however you do it," said Petri.
Petri said mixing the vaccines also proved to be effective too.
“There’s actually no way you can go wrong with this. You get about a 20-fold increase in those neutralizing spike antibodies with all nine of those different combinations of the vaccine," he said.
Petri said people could experience the usual side effects when combining vaccines.
“Like having a sore arm maybe, like having a flu-like illness for 24 hours.”
Petri explained the next step in the approval process.
“And now more of the decision is what is the most appropriate group to receive these vaccines and do independent experts agree with what the FDA has done," he said.
The professor estimates people could get their booster shots or mix between vaccines as soon as Monday.
The Virginia Department of Health officials said they plan to provide a statement when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives approval for the booster shots or to mix the vaccines.