The mixing of COVID-19 vaccines might be absurd to hear, but as the new findings suggest, the process is considered safe. However, there are still many experiments that will be conducted to further prove if the combined doses could double the protection against the coronavirus.
Combining Pfizer and AstraZeneca Dose Could Heighten Risks of Side-Effects
ROME, ITALY - MARCH 25: Doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) COVID-19 vaccine are seen at the military citadel of Cecchignola, on March 25, 2021 in Rome, Italy. At the request of the European Commission, Italian security forces discovered 29 million does of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a Catalent factory. Meanwhile European public trust dwindled with reported side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a prosecutor in Italy is investigating possible manslaughter after a naval office died hours after being inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
While it's true that administering each dose of the said COVID vaccines is safe, the experts said that it could increase the frequency of the side effects--from mild to moderate.
In comparison to the standard application of the vaccine, the preliminary date highlighted the "reactogenicity" that could happen, Global News reported. Although the reaction could only last for a few days, this could indicate that the study should undergo thorough assessments
The University of Oxford which led the Com-Cov study tackled the efficacy and the safety of the combined doses in the UK trial. This will bring light to the instability of the COVID-19 vaccine supplies across the globe.
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In the trial, the scientists experimented with four combinations of the vaccines. These include Pfizer + AstraZeneca, Pfizer + Pfizer, AstraZeneca + AstraZeneca, and AstraZeneca + Pfizer.
The subjects are the 50-year-old-and-above participants which account for 830. Some of them have the symptoms of the coronavirus infection.
The group of 463 subjects belongs to the first tranche of data. They received the first and second doses within a gap of four weeks. Seven days after the second dose is given, participants said they have experienced some symptoms.
In general, the mixing of COVID-19 vaccines had led to escalating risk of side effects. 34% of the participants who received the AstraZeneca (1st dose) and the Pfizer (2nd dose) said that they have suffered from fever.
Moreover, 41% of the patients who acquired Pfizer (1st dose) and AstraZeneca (2nd dose) experienced the same feeling. Meanwhile, those who got two doses of Pfizer and felt feverish accounted for 21% while only 10% reported the same case when they received two AstraZeneca doses.
Other than fever, the experts noted the following side-effects: muscle ache, joint pain, fatigue, chills, headache, and malaise. There were no reported concerns about hospitalization since the said reactions only last for some time.
"These are the type of reactions we do expect with vaccines ... and they are more or less the same types of reactions that you're seeing with the standard schedules. It's just that they're occurring more frequently," University of Oxford vaccinology associate professor, Matthew Snape said.
Younger Groups Still Have Stronger Reactions to Vaccine
According to a report by The Guardian, those who belong to the young age bracket display stronger vaccine reactions compared to the old participants in the trial, as the real-world data tells.
This mixed schedule, however, could lead to higher levels of absenteeism in a ward full of nurses. Immunizing the entire ward on the same day will not be ideal according to Snape.
For Com-Cov2's next study, the impact assessment among participants will be the focus. This will accentuate the effects of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine for the first dose. This time, the second dose will involve the Novavax or the Moderna vaccine.
It's still uncertain if the mixed-dose will also mean "double protection" against COVID.
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Written by Joseph Henry
