Britain clears COVID-19 vaccine mixing and pairing

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Britain clears COVID-19 vaccine mixing and pairing

Britain is ready to allow the mixing of various coronavirus vaccines under special circumstances, despite limited knowledge about whether mixed doses provide the same level of protection as uniform doses.

The UK government issued updated guidelines on New Years Eve that “[If] the same vaccine is not available, or if the first product received is unknown, it is reasonable to offer a dose of the product available locally to complete the schedule. “

Mary Ramsay, head of vaccinations at Public Health England, explained that different doses of the coronavirus vaccine would be given on very rare occasions, Reuters reported.

“Every effort should be made to give them the same vaccine, but when that is not possible, it is better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all,” she said.

Britain became the first country to issue an emergency use authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines in December. The two vaccines require two doses several weeks apart, but they were not created to be combined, Reuters reported.

According to guidelines released by Britain, there is no “evidence yet on the interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines, although studies are ongoing”.

The UK government also raised concerns earlier this month when it announced it would delay the administration of the second doses of the coronavirus vaccine by 12 weeks to those who received the first vaccine in order to provide the initial vaccine, which offers limited protection against the virus, to more people, according to Reuters.

Anthony Fauci, an expert in infectious diseases, said at the time that he would advise against the decision.

“I wouldn’t be in favor of this,” he told CNN. “We will continue to do what we are doing.”