Can COVID-19 vaccines be mixed? UK study has answer

By Vandana Singh

Preliminary data from a UK clinical trial testing the benefits of mixing and combining COVID-19 vaccines showed that participants who received a mixed vaccination schedule reacted more frequently than participants with non-mixed standard schedules, reports CNBC.

What happened: The study, called the Com-Cov Study, which is led by Oxford University, looks at the immune responses of study participants who received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ: AZN) followed by the vaccine Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) – BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) shot and vice versa.

Photo from CDC via Unsplash

The study aims to evaluate the feasibility of mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines and see if this could be a viable way to increase the flexibility of vaccination campaigns.

Some of the reactions reported in participants who received the mixed vaccination schedule were chills, tiredness, fever, headache, joint pain, malaise, muscle pain, and pain at the injection site.

The side effects were short-lived and there were no other safety concerns.

The data were recorded among participants aged 50 and over. Researchers on the study believe it is possible that side effects on a mixed schedule of COVID-19 vaccines may be more common in younger age groups.

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Test results: In the international medical journal Lancet, researchers from the study reported that when administered four weeks apart, both the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine alternating schedules produced more frequent responses than the standard unmixed schedules after the second dose .

“The results of this study suggest that mixed dosing schedules can lead to an increase in lost work days after immunization. This is important when planning to immunize health care workers,” he added.

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Matthew Snape, the study’s chief investigator, said it was important to underscore the fact that there were no safety concerns, adding that it was unclear whether the immune response would be affected.

Photo from CDC via Unsplash

“We hope to be able to report this data in the coming months. In the meantime, we’ve adjusted the ongoing study to see if early and regular use of paracetamol reduces the frequency of these reactions, ”said Snape.

The study initially recruited 830 volunteers aged 50 and over.

In April, the researchers expanded the program to include the Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) COVID-19 vaccines in a new study called Com-COV2. The program was expanded to include an additional 1,050 volunteers.

Price action: MRNA’s shares are trading 0.37% lower at $ 152.11, BNTX stock is down 3.05% to $ 180.52, PFE stock is + 1.36% on Thursday’s last check down to $ 40.23.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.