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The Food and Drug Administration is expected to endorse the use of booster shots of a different vaccine than the one you received for your initial inoculation, according to The Washington Post (subscription).

The conversation: Officials are still discussing how best to measure dosages if a person chooses a different booster than his or her initial vaccine—and while the FDA is expected to determine that the mix-and-match approach is safe, they may still recommend that people get the same vaccine as their initial shots when possible.

Why it matters: The mix-and-match approach could potentially be useful for individuals who aren’t able to find or access the same type of booster as their original shot. It could also help people who had an adverse reaction to the mRNA vaccines and need a different kind of booster. 

The data: Data from a study that tested mixing boosters from different companies seemed to suggest the approach was beneficial. While recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine saw a benefit from another dose of that inoculation, mRNA boosters provided a larger increase in antibody levels.