This Is The Difference Between Homologous And Heterologous Booster Vaccines

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that homologous and heterologous booster vaccines are distinguished on the manufacturing platform but have the same efficacy for the body's resistance to the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

"The booster vaccine is given after a person has received a complete dose of primary vaccine, aimed at maintaining the level of immunity and extending the period of protection given homologously and heterologously," said Siti Nadia Tarmizi as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, January 11.

According to Nadia, homolog means that the third dose uses the same type of vaccine as the first and second doses. Meanwhile, heterologs used a third vaccine with a different type.

He said the difference in vaccine types lies in the vaccine platform. For example, Sinovac which is made with a platform inactivated virus or killed virus, AstraZeneca uses adenovirus or modified live adenovirus as a special protein 'sender'.

Other vaccines are Moderna and Pfizer which are both mRNA or messenger RNA platforms. The mRNA vaccine is a new type of vaccine. "So what he means is that the homologous or heterologous vaccine types are the same or different platforms, not the brand," he said.

Nadia gave an example, if Sinovac received the first and second doses of primary vaccine, then the third dose of the homolog could also be vaccinated with the type of virus that had been killed.

"If the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines are vaccines with an mRNA platform, later if homologous vaccines use the same type of vaccine on the same platform," he said. primary vaccine doses one and two.

"For example, the Sinovac vaccine which is made from a killed virus is given for a dose of one and a second dose, but then in the third dose we give a vaccine with an mRNA platform, namely Pfizer or Moderna," he said.

The current implementation of booster vaccination, said Nadia, is for booster recipients for a minimum of six months from January to June 2021. "At that time we used Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines," he said.

Therefore, the booster vaccine regimen issued by the government is targeted at people over the age of 18 who receive the Sinovac vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"If you get Sinovac twice, it is possible that the third dose could be with AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines. It will depend on what is in the health facility," he said.

For people to get a complete dose of AstraZeneca injection, said Nadia, then for the booster they can use Moderna or Pfizer.

"Regardless of the type, the results of the study show that the increase in antibody titer is the same," he said.