Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
International

Britain to test mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Feb, 2021 01:12 AM
  • Britain to test mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines

British scientists are starting a study Thursday to find out if it's OK to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines.

The vaccines being rolled out now require two doses, and people are supposed to get two shots of the same kind, weeks apart.

Guidelines in Britain and the U.S. say the vaccines aren't interchangeable, but can be mixed if the same kind isn’t available for the second dose or if it’s not known what was given for the first shot.

Participants in the government-funded study will get one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a dose from Pfizer, or vice versa.

“This study will give us greater insight into how we can use vaccines to stay on top of this nasty disease,” said Jonathan Van Tam, the U.K.'s deputy chief medical officer.

He said that given the challenges of immunizing millions of people amid a global vaccine shortage, there would be advantages to having data that could support more “flexible” immunization campaigns.

COVID-19 vaccines all train the body to recognize the coronavirus, mostly the spike protein that coats it. The ones from AstraZeneca and Pfizer use different technologies. AstraZeneca's uses a common cold virus to carry the spike gene into the body. Pfizer's is made by putting a piece of genetic code called mRNA — the instructions for that spike protein — inside a little ball of fat.

The British research is scheduled to run 13 months and will also test different intervals between doses, four weeks and 12 weeks apart.

A study published this week on the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine showed it was about 91% effective in preventing COVID-19. Some immunologists credit the fact that the vaccine uses two slightly different shots, made with similar technology to AstraZeneca's.

But the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are "so different that it’s really hard to know if that would work,” said Alexander Edwards, an associate professor in biomedical technology at Britain's University of Reading.

Matthew Snape, the new study's leader at Oxford University, which helped develop the AstraZeneca vaccine, called for British volunteers over age 50 to sign up; scientists are hoping to enrol more than 800 people.

If the vaccines can be used interchangeably, "this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery," he said in a statement. "(It) could provide clues as to how to increase the breadth of protection against new virus strains.”

In recent weeks, Britain, the European Union and numerous other countries have been hit with vaccine supply issues: AstraZeneca said it would dramatically reduce the expected number of doses it could deliver due to manufacturing delays and Pfizer also slowed deliveries while it upgraded its Belgian factory.

MORE International ARTICLES

Lilly seeks emergency use of its antibody drug for COVID-19

Lilly seeks emergency use of its antibody drug for COVID-19
Eli Lilly and Company announced the partial results Wednesday in a news release; they have not yet been published or reviewed by independent scientists.

Lilly seeks emergency use of its antibody drug for COVID-19

Experts call Trump's rosy virus message misguided

Experts call Trump's rosy virus message misguided
The seven-day rolling average for new U.S. cases has climbed over the past two weeks to almost 42,000 per day. The nation also sees more than 700 COVID-19 deaths each day.

Experts call Trump's rosy virus message misguided

With Trump sick, all eyes on Wednesday's VP debate

With Trump sick, all eyes on Wednesday's VP debate
Questions persist about Donald Trump's health following his COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as the age of 77-year-old challenger Joe Biden.

With Trump sick, all eyes on Wednesday's VP debate

Magnitsky sanctions demanded in Iranian shootdown

Magnitsky sanctions demanded in Iranian shootdown
There were 176 people killed when the Iranian military shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 on Jan. 8, shortly after it took off from Tehran.

Magnitsky sanctions demanded in Iranian shootdown

Berry scare: U.S. eyeing foreign produce imports

Berry scare: U.S. eyeing foreign produce imports
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer served notice last week that the Trump administration fears domestic producers are being unfairly harmed by what they call a recent increase in berry imports from Canada and Mexico.

Berry scare: U.S. eyeing foreign produce imports

EU regulator starts safety review of coronavirus drug

EU regulator starts safety review of coronavirus drug
In a statement on Friday, the EU regulator said it isn’t clear whether remdesivir was causing the “acute kidney injury,” but that the issue “warrants further investigation.”

EU regulator starts safety review of coronavirus drug