Is Mixing Doses Of Different Vaccine Brands Safe?
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-08-10 05:43:34
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
When double-dose Covid vaccines were first marketed, there was a clear fiat, both from medical experts and vaccine manufacturers, that there was to be no mixing of doses of different vaccines brands (that is, if someone was jabbed with a particular brand of vaccine for the first dose, he or she must be given the same brand for the second dose). Although some experts had suggested mixing of doses, it was not done as the majority was against it. That was because each vaccine had been created using a different process and experts were not sure of the complications that might arise if they were mixed. Since then, there have been several studies that have shown that mixing doses of different brands is safe in some cases and even enhances immune response.
The latest study to confirm this is by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) which conducted tests on 18 persons who were given mixed doses. Covishield was given to them as the first dose and Covaxin was inadvertently administered as the second dose. The study says that these people have shown enhanced immunological response against the virus, including against different variants, when compared to those jabbed with both doses of the same brand. Although this is encouraging, the small sample size has led many experts to warn that a detailed study is required before arriving at any firm conclusion in this regard.
Combinations of drugs have been used for ages to combat diseases or do so faster. There have also been studies regarding mixing vaccines manufactured using different technologies at the production level to enhance their effectiveness. This is because different vaccines attack the virus in different ways and researchers are always trying to find out if two or more of them can be mixed to do so in most effectively. But unless a deeper study with a bigger sample size is conducted for Covid vaccines, it is prudent not to mix doses and continue with the current policy of administering both doses of the same brand.
