Can covid vaccine merger be a possibility?

Special Desk

While covid vaccines are being administered and new ones are under trials a new study has begun to see possibilities of merging two different vaccines for separate doses.

IN UK, scientists have launched the world’s first study examining whether different coronavirus vaccines can safely be used for two-dose regimens, which could give extra flexibility and even boost protection against Covid-19 one approved.

Participants in the 13-month study will be given the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in different combinations and at different intervals, the UK Department of Health and Social Care said.

“If we do show that these vaccines can be used interchangeably in the same schedule this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery,” said Matthew Snape, chief investigator and associate professor in pediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Oxford. Preliminary results are expected over the summer, the news release said.

The current vaccine dosing regimen for the general public will remain unchanged in the UK, it said. But should the study show promising results, the government may consider revising the recommended vaccine regimen.

The study will also seek to determine if vaccination is more effective with a four-week or 12-week gap between the two doses. Trial shots will be given by mid-February. Minister for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said the new trial would provide vital evidence on the safety of the two shots when used in different ways.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization do not currently recommend interchanging coronavirus vaccines, since no data is currently available that examines whether doing so would still provide the same level of protection.

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The UK has been one of the world’s worst-hit nations during the pandemic, with among the highest confirmed Covid-19 deaths proportionate to its population.