Britain should allow the mixing of several coronavirus vaccines under special circumstances, despite limited knowledge about whether mixed doses provide the same protection as uniform doses.
© Getty Images
Britain will allow mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccines
The British government released updated guidelines on New Year’s Eve in that state, “[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 locally available to complete the regimen. “
Mary Ramsay, head of immunizations at Public Health England, explained that different doses of the coronavirus vaccine would be given on extremely rare occasions, Reuters reported.
“Every effort must 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 to,” she said.
Britain became the first country to provide emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines in December. Both vaccines require two doses several weeks apart, but were not designed to be combined, Reuters reported.
According to the guidelines released by Great Britain, there is still no “evidence on the interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines, although studies are in progress”.
The British government also raised concerns earlier this month when it announced that it would delay administering second doses of coronavirus vaccines for 12 weeks to those who received the first injection in order to provide the initial injection, which provides limited protection against the virus. , for more people, according to Reuters.
Infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said at the time that he would advise against change.
“I would not be in favor of that,” he told CNN. “We will continue to do what we are doing.”
Keep reading