GENEVA, 13 JULY: On Monday, the WHO’s chief scientist warned against mixing and blending Covid-19 vaccinations from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous practice” that requires additional research on the health effects. “This is a potentially worrisome trend,” Soumya Swaminathan said in an online briefing. “If citizens start deciding when and who will take a second, third, and fourth dose, countries will devolve into chaos.”
On Monday, Swaminathan referred to mixing as a “data-free zone,” but the WHO emphasized on Tuesday that some data was available and that more was on the way.
In June, the company’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccines indicated the Pfizer vaccine may be administered as a second dose after an initial AstraZeneca dose if the latter was unavailable.
A further clinical trial, led by the University of Oxford, is under underway to investigate at combining AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, as well as Moderna and Novovax vaccines.
In emailed comments, the WHO noted, “Data from mix and match studies of multiple vaccines are awaited – immunogenicity and safety both need to be examined.”
The That stated that it should be public health agencies, not people, who make decisions based on available facts./n
