Britain is set on mixing different coronavirus vaccines under special circumstances, despite limited knowledge or mixed doses offering the same amount of protection as uniform doses.
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Britain to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines
The British government announced updated guidelines on New Year’s Eve, “[If] the same vaccine is not available, or if the first product received is unknown, it is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule. “
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Mary Ramsay, head of vaccinations at Public Health England, explained that different doses of coronavirus vaccine would be given out on extremely rare occasions, Reuters reported.
“We have to do everything we can to give them the same vaccine, but where 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 grant emergency use authorization for the Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines in December. Both vaccines require two doses a few weeks apart, but they were not created to fit together, Reuters reports.
According to the guidelines issued by Britain, there is still no “evidence on the interchangeability of the COVID-19 vaccines, although studies are ongoing.”
The British government also expressed concern earlier this month when it announced that it would delay the administration of the second dose of coronavirus vaccines by twelve weeks to those who received the first shot to reduce the initial shot, which provides limited protection against the virus. , offer. more people, according to Reuters.
The top expert on infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, said at the time that he would advise against the move.
“I would not advocate for that,” he told CNN. “We’re going to keep doing what we do.”
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