Research is underway around the world on the mixing of different types of vaccines to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. While studies are already underway in Britain on AstraZeneca and Pfizer, Covaxin and Covishield are also being studied in India.
As part of this, a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research has shown that it is safe to take Covishield and Covaxin vaccines (per dose) separately. Experts also found that it had improved results in boosting the immune system to fight the virus effectively.
However, this study report is yet to be reviewed (peer review) in international scientific research journals. Covishield and Covaxin vaccines, which are widely available in India, have been developed with two different technologies.
However, two months ago in the country, two separate cases of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines were given to the same person in Uttar Pradesh. Experts believe that such a mixed vaccination approach may be helpful in the face of challenges such as a shortage of vaccines. The study was only conducted on 18 people of Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharth Nagar.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested that Covid-19 vaccines developed by different manufacturers should not be mixed and matched. Although the latest study in this regard has given better results, it needs to be fully reviewed in the presence of experts.