With a new orientation after reporting rare blood clots, the global medical community is studying whether it is possible and safe to administer two different candidates to the same person.
This week, the European Medicines Agency and the UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency determined that there is a possible link between the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine and very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low platelets.
Neither European nor British health regulators recommended age restrictions on vaccine use. However, the UK regulator noted that the data suggest that there is a slightly higher incidence in younger adult age groups and therefore advises that this evolutionary evidence should be taken into account in when considering the use of the vaccine.
Similarly, the EMA reiterated that the vaccine is safe and effective, but noted that vaccine use at the national level will also take into account the pandemic situation and the availability of vaccine in countries.
Subsequently, the UK, several EU countries and other governments around the world have decided to recommend the use of alternative vaccines for younger people.
Given the change in direction, the younger ones now ask themselves the question: If I have already received a dose of the vaccine, should I go back for the second one?
Governments have different answers to this question. Health experts generally agree that the mix and combination of vaccines should be safe. But clinical trials continue.
Orientation varies
The Joint Vaccination and Vaccination Committee of the United Kingdom advises: “All those who have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should continue to be offered a second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of the The second dose will be important for more lasting protection against COVID-19. “
In contrast, the French health regulator recommends that people under the age of 55 who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca receive Pfizer or Moderna for their second vaccine. He advises a 12-week gap between these first and second shots in these cases. The regulator stated that there is no reason to fear specific adverse events if you had the first AstraZeneca jab and then switch to an mRNA jab for the second.
Germany has followed a similar path. The German vaccine committee recommended that people under the age of 60 who had received a shot of the AstraZeneca jab should opt for a different vaccine for their second dose.
The Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann (R), receives the AstraZeneca vaccine against the new coronavirus in Stuttgart, southern Germany, on March 19, 2021.
MARIJAN MURAT AFP | Getty Images
Ongoing tests
“The guidelines are the guidelines. But as a basic immunologist, can I see any argument as to why it is impractical or safe to mix and match vaccines? No, I can’t see any. I would still induce great immunity. No problem with that, ”Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, told CNBC’s” Squawk Box Europe “on Friday.
Andrew Freedman, a reader of infectious diseases at Cardiff University School of Medicine, told CNBC: “Studies are being carried out to look at the concept of combination and combination. There is no theoretical reason why this it is not feasible and safe, but we must wait for these studies. “
Regarding a possible booster dose that may be needed in the fall or winter, he added: “I don’t think there is any real concern that I can’t follow two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with one of the other RNA vaccines. messenger “.
Meanwhile, Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of vaccine maker CureVac, told CNBC this week: “The good news is that all of these vaccines code for the same ear protein … so there are trials clinical data and data that can be mixed and matched with these different vaccine platforms “.
“So in that sense, I have high hopes that this will work out pretty well,” he added.
The CureVac candidate himself is still in clinical trials. Data reading is well under way during the second quarter of this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that the safety and efficacy of a number of mixed products have not been evaluated.
There are several trials underway to analyze the effects of the vaccine mix. The UK launched a trial in February to specifically examine the mix of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine with the Pfizer-BioNtech trait. The findings are not expected to be available until the summer. Separately, trials are being conducted on a combination of AstraZeneca-Oxford and Russian Sputnik V vaccines.