London – A major United Kingdom trial looking at whether coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines can be mixed with different types of jabs used for first and second doses is being expanded.
Combining vaccines might give broader, longer-lasting immunity against the virus and new variants of it, and offer more flexibility to vaccine rollout.
Adults over 50 who have had a first dose of Pfizer or AstraZeneca can apply to take part in the Com-Cov study.
Their second dose could be the same again, or a shot of Moderna or Novavax.
Chief investigator on the trial, Professor Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, said he hoped to recruit 1 050 volunteers who have already received one dose on the National Health Service ( NHS) in the past 8 to 12 weeks.
The trial, funded by the vaccine taskforce and supported by the National Institute for Health Research, is being run from nine different sites across England:
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- The University of Nottingham Health Service
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
More than 800 people are already taking part in the research and have received two doses of either Pfizer, AstraZeneca or a mix.
Results of this first stage are expected next month, and the expanded trial should have some reportable findings by June or July – although the study will run for a year.
Health experts generally agree that the mixing and matching of the vaccines should be safe. The trial will check for any side-effects or unwanted reactions.
Participants will have blood taken to check how well the vaccines trigger an immune response – in the form of antibodies and T cells – to combat COVID-19. (BBC)
