THE EU’s drug regulator gave its backing yesterday to mixing different types of vaccines in initial vaccination and booster campaigns to battle Covid-19.

In a statement, the European Medicines Agency said that using different types of vaccines together, known as heterologous vaccination, can provide protection against the virus.

The announcement comes as much of Europe is facing rising infection and hospitalisation rates, and continued concerns about the new omicron variant.

The agency, together with the European Centre for Disease Control, said that a mix-and-match strategy could give nations more options in vaccination campaigns.

“The evidence available so far with different types of authorised vaccines indicates that a heterologous booster appears as good as or better in terms of immune responses than a homologous booster,” the agencies said.

Authorities in Britain and the United States have already given the green light to mixing and matching vaccines in booster campaigns.