Europe’s Top Healthcare Regulators Recommend Mixing Vaccines
Posted by HAROON HAYDER
European Union’s (EU) top healthcare regulatory agencies have recommended ‘mixing and matching’ Coronavirus vaccines for both initial and booster vaccinations as a number of countries in the bloc witness a resurgence of the viral infection.
In an official statement, European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that the latest evidence suggests that mixing and matching mRNA-based and viral vector-based COVID-19 vaccines generate a strong immune response against the disease.
The practice will offer several options for vaccination against Coronavirus in case a COVID-19 becomes unavailable for any reason in the future, the statement added.
However, EMA and ECDC warned that more research is needed to determine the outcomes of administering ‘mixed and matched’ Coronavirus vaccines in individuals with weak or compromised immune systems or those suffering from chronic diseases.
The recommendation from top EU public health regulators is expected to allow countries in the bloc to initiate administering mixed and matched vaccines to masses before the practice is officially ratified by the EU.
Besides EMA and ECDC, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved mixing vaccines in the country. On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) is mulling over revising its stance over the practice in the coming days. Earlier this year in July, WHO warned against mixing and matching Coronavirus vaccines, citing insufficient evidence on the practice.
The statement from EMA and ECDC comes a day after Oxford University published the preliminary results of a clinical trial being held to determine the efficacy of mixing AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines revealed that combining these vaccines offer significant protection against Coronavirus.
The trial found that administering the second dose of Moderna after the first dose of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine produces antibodies and T-cell responses greater than the two doses of only AstraZeneca or only Pfizer.
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