Mixing AstraZeneca, Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine shots creates strong immune response: Report

*Experts found the Coronavirus Vaccine ‘mix and match’ could alleviate supply scarcity and vaccine inequality, and the effectiveness of combination depends on the order of shots

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In view of the apparent vaccine scarcity, vaccine inequality, and often-alleged Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine hoarding by wealthy economies of the world, researchers opined that recent findings a study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom (UK), could enable greater flexibility in the use of scarce supplies.

According to the experts, mixing doses of COVID-19 Vaccines from Pfizer Incorporated and AstraZeneca Plc creates a strong immune response, agency report said.

Researchers reported Monday, June 28, 2021, in the Lancet medical journal, that a mixed schedule of the Pfizer shot followed by the AstraZeneca vaccine, and vice-versa, resulted in high concentrations of antibodies against virus when given four weeks apart.

Report indicated that doctors and public health officials have been analysing various ways to extend vaccine supplies ─ by delaying the time between first and second doses, for example ─ as many low- and middle-income countries try to figure out how to cope with vaccine scarcity.

It was learnt that the ability to mix doses might help countries with supplies of different vaccines to assist one another.

However, the study finding stated that the order in which people got the COVID-19 Vaccines affected the results.

AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer produced higher levels of immune antibodies and T-cells than Pfizer followed by AstraZeneca Vaccines, the researchers said.

Both of the mixed vaccine schedules summoned more antibodies than two doses of Astra, the study found.

The study findings also stated the best T-cell response came from AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer, and the highest antibody response was seen from two doses of Pfizer.

Matthew Snape, an Oxford professor who led the trial in a media briefing said: “This argues for flexibility in use of these schedules, where local circumstances require it.

“This is giving everybody options.”

Shots of AstraZeneca’s Vaccine are currently spaced out by 12 weeks in the UK, which broadens accessibility and appears to boost vaccine effectiveness.

Likewise, “a study from Oxford released Monday showed that gapping shots by as long as 10 months improved responses even further.

“Results from a test of the mixed doses at 12-week intervals will be available “within the next month or so,” Snape said at the briefing.

The vaccine trial involved 830 volunteers aged 50 and over, and tested the vaccines only against the variant first identified in Wuhan.

Snape noted that further testing against additional Coronavirus strains could be useful for informing which vaccines and combinations to use in potential winter booster shots. Further research from the programme will look at combining vaccines from Moderna Incorporated and Novavax Incorporated, report said.

In May, early research from the study found that mixing doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca increased side effects, such as fatigue and headaches.

However, the findings from the Lancet study said that these were short-lived.

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