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Vaccination

Mixed-Dose Vaccine Regimen Study Launched in the UK

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A government-backed study has been launched in the UK to determine whether using different coronavirus vaccines for the first and second doses is safe and effective. The programme, dubbed Com-Cov, has received £7 million in funding from the government's Vaccine Taskforce and aims to establish whether a mixed-dose vaccine regimen is better than or a good alternative to using two doses of the same Covid-19 jab. The study will initially look at mixing doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, as well as different intervals between doses. Researchers at the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC) said more vaccines will be added to the list as they get approved for use.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study, Com-Cov, aims to determine whether a mixed-dose vaccine regimen is safe and effective.
  • The programme has received £7 million in funding from the government's Vaccine Taskforce.
  • The study will initially look at mixing doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.
  • Researchers at NISEC will add more vaccines to the study as they get approved for use.
  • The study will evaluate the immune response and antibody levels of people who receive a mixed-dose vaccine regimen.
  • Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi stated that the study will have no impact on the deployment of vaccines.
  • England's deputy chief medical officer professor Jonathan Van-Tam said that being able to mix vaccines would give them greater flexibility in future.

Statistics:

  • £7 million: funding received by the Com-Cov study from the government's Vaccine Taskforce.
  • 10 million: number of people in the UK who have received their first jab, which is almost a fifth of the adult population.
  • 4,000: number of variants of the virus that causes Covid-19 around the world now.
  • May: expected month for all adults in the UK to receive their first dose of the vaccine.
  • August: expected month for all adults in the UK to receive their second dose of the vaccine.

Sources:

  • "Government-backed study launched to investigate mixed-dose Covid vaccine regimen." PA Media.
  • "UK to launch study into mixing different Covid-19 vaccines for first and second doses." The Guardian.
  • "Government study to look into mixing Covid-19 vaccines." BBC News.

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