The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) on Tuesday recommended that countries Mix and match vaccines against COVID-19 that has already been approved. They say these mixtures can be made for both initial vaccination and booster shots.
According to EMA and ECDC In a joint statement issued As of Tuesday morning, evidence suggests that a combination of vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Janssen, for example) and messenger-RNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) produces good levels of antibodies against the covid-19-causing coronavirus.
The approval of the European Union’s health authorities came after an extensive study was released on the subject on Monday. The study concluded that the first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech followed by a dose of Moderna, nine weeks later, resulted in a better immune response in those who received this vaccine schedule. But the EMA and ECDC stress that the recommendation is also based on “A growing number of clinical studies, backed by factual evidence“.
“The use of a viral vector vaccine as a second dose in primary vaccination schedules, or the use of two different RNA vaccines, has not been studied,” the statement read.
The United States, for example, has already given the green light for mixing and matching to occur, while the World Health Organization (WHO) is also evaluating this approach.
As the world tries to track and prevent transmission of the new type of SARS-CoV-2, Omicron, and many governments impose new restrictions, the longevity of protection offered by vaccines is under scrutiny.
“As research continues to provide more evidence about long-term safety, duration of immunity and efficacy, the use of heterogeneous regimens could provide flexibility with regard to vaccination options, particularly to reduce the impact on the vaccination process if one of the vaccines is not available at any time,” he explained. EMA and ECDC.
It is also said that technical considerations and recommendations about each vaccine combination were made by EMA and ECDC specialists (and available here) aims to help governments and national authorities “to ensure that as many EU citizens as possible are vaccinated and protected as quickly as possible”.
The European Union is currently facing an increasing number of infections, as well as increasing hospitalization rates. Vaccines continue to prevent millions of EU citizens from getting sick or dying, and figures show that the number of hospitalizations and deaths remains lower. In the Member States with the highest vaccination rates. The EMA and ECDC continue to urge all EU citizens to be vaccinated and to adhere to recent recommendations on booster vaccination,” the two bodies say.
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