ORLANDO, Fla. — Doctors in the area are hoping for more coronavirus booster options after the FDA authorized Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster doses Wednesday.

​The FDA said those boosters, in addition to Pfizer’s, could be used in a mix and match approach. But the final decision rests with the CDC.

Dr. Sajid Chaudhary is an infectious disease specialist with Osceola Regional Medical Center. He says boosters are necessary to help combat any new COVID variants and points to studies showing waning immunity over time. 

“There’s no harm in mixing and matching,” he said.

Chaudhary added mixing and matching boosters offers more flexibility when it comes to brand availability, as well as potential efficacy.

“Especially Johnson & Johnson, if they get the booster of Moderna or Pfizer, I think that would be more effective as compared to have another shot of Johnson & Johnson,” he said.

Alicia Garland, of Orlando, received her Pfizer booster shot with her mother at Barnett Park on Thursday. Garland is her mother’s caretaker and as a senior citizen, she is eligible for the booster shot. 

“(My mother) has other health conditions that are serious that we have to make sure that she’s OK,” Garland said. “Just to make sure she’s not exposed to something.”

The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is the only brand currently available as a booster. That booster is only for eligible groups of people at high risk of getting sick from COVID-19, as well as those more likely to be exposed to the virus due to their jobs.