Study conducted by ICMR revealed that a cocktail of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines was safe and gave better immunity against the variant strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Mixing and matching of Covaxin and Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccines available in India, have shown better results in building immunity against the virus, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The study which was conducted between May-June 2021in Uttar Pradesh suggests that immunisation with combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also gave better immunity against the variant strains of SARS-CoV-2.
“Such mixed regimens will also help to overcome the challenges of shortfall of particular vaccines and remove hesitancy around vaccines in peopleâs mind that could have genesis in programmatic âerrorsâ especially in settings where multiple Covid-19 vaccines are being used,” the study suggests. However, the ICMR study is yet to be peer-reviewed.
Also read: âCovaxin Shortage Due To Quality Issues,â Says Government Vaccine Panel Chief
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan, in July this year, advised against mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous trend” since there was little data available.
“So it’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here. We’re in a data-free, evidence-free zone here as far as mix-and-match. There is limited data on mix and match. It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who will be taking a second, a third and a fourth dose,” Soumya Swaminathan said.
A Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on July 30, recommended conducting a study on mixing doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines. The recommendation came following an application by Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore. While discussing the application, the CDSCO panel recommended that CMC should conduct clinical trials on this.
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