Mixing AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines shows robust immune response: Oxford

Amid discussions on the impact of mixing doses of two different vaccines, Oxford University has come out with a study to shed some light on the matter. The study says that alternating doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have shown a robust immune response against COVID-19.

Mixed schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart.

The study published on the Lancet pre-print server indicates that all possible vaccination schedules with AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could be used against COVID-19. This comes as a ray of hope amid reports of vaccine shortage.

Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, and Chief Investigator on the trial said, “The results show that when given at a four-week interval both mixed schedules induce an immune response that is above the threshold set by the standard schedule of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine."

However the interval of four weeks is considerably shorter than the eight to 12 week gap schedule commonly used for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam called it a vital step forward.

The Com-COV study run by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC) is led by the University of Oxford. The study aims to look at the feasibility of using different vaccines for the initial ‘prime’ vaccination to the follow-up booster vaccination.

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