The United Kingdom is prepared to allow the mixing of different coronavirus vaccines in special circumstances, despite limited knowledge of whether or not mixed doses provide the same amount of protection as uniform doses.
The British government published updated guidelines on New Year’s Eve, stating: “(If) the same vaccine is not available or if the first product received is not known, it is reasonable to provide a dose of the locally available product to complete the program. “
Mary Ramsay, head of immunizations at Public Health England, explained that different doses of the coronavirus vaccine will only be given in very rare cases, Reuters reported.
“Every effort should be made to give them the same vaccine, but where this is not possible, it is better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all,” she said.
The UK became the first to provide emergency authorization for both Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines in December. Both vaccines require two doses a few weeks apart, however, they were not created to be paired, Reuters reported.
According to the guidelines published by the UK, there is still no “evidence of interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines, although studies are ongoing”.
The British government also expressed concern earlier this month when it announced it would delay the administration of a second dose of coronavirus vaccine for 12 weeks to those who received the first vaccine to deliver the initial vaccine, which provides limited protection against the virus to more people, according to Reuters.
Top expert in infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci
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“I wouldn’t be in favor of that,” he told CNN. “We will continue to do what we do.”