The leader of a non-profit group centered on vaccine information campaigns said the effects of mixing and matching various coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine brands for first and second dose shots "remains to be seen," as some developers start to investigate this process in the face of a supply shortage.
Dr. Lulu Bravo, president of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, said that while it could be harmless, specific studies are needed before mixing vaccines.
"Walang kompanya pa ang gumagawa ng pag-aaral na mini-mix ang bakuna nila sa iba, that is never done before. But now with the pandemic… Mayroon nang mga kompanya even Chinese companies and ibang kompanya nag-iisip na 'pag kulang ang bakuna at wala kang magagamit for the second dose, posibleng gumamit ka ng ibang brand at titingnan mo ngayon kung ganoon pa rin ang efficacy," Bravo said.
(No company has done studies where they mix their vaccines with others. But now with the pandemic, there are others such as Chinese companies that have been thinking about the shortage in vaccines, and they do not have enough for the second dose, you can use a different brand and we can look if the efficacy remains the same.)
Shipments of the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines via the COVAX facility were delayed earlier in the month, as the World Health Organization said there were supply shortages in Europe. The facility recently said it was in talks to acquire other COVID-19 vaccines as supply remained short.
Reports have said AstraZeneca has been trialed with Russia's Sputnik V, while British scientists have been testing Pfizer's mRNA shot with the AstraZenca jab in a British government-funded study.
Bravo, however noted that experts may also have to note the compositions of vaccines before mixing and matching them on a patient, as it may change how effective the doses are to combat the virus.
For instance, Sinovac uses an inactive form of the COVID-19 virus for its vaccine, while other brands such as AstraZeneca use the spike protein of the virus, which generates COVID-19 antibodies.
"[Generally speaking] posible talaga na magawa ka ng ibang brand o ibang bakuna at titingnan mo ngayon kung ganon pa rin ang efficacy. Hindi naman makakasama, kaya lang 'yung efficacy, magbabago... May possibility talaga na mag-iiba, kung ang ginamit mo ang ibang bakuna - posibleng magdagdag, posible ring bumaba or posibleng the same, it remains to be seen. Pero hindi masama kung makakaiba ka o makakabago," Bravo said.
(It can be possible to use another brand. It will not do harm in my opinion. However, the efficacy may change if you use a different vaccine. It may decrease, it can increase. But I think it will not do harm if you try.)
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. was said to be mulling the purchase of booster shots from Moderna.
But whether or not these booster shots may be mixed with other vaccine brands should "be intensively studied."
"Unfortunately wala pa tayong nakikitang datos tungkol dito but I would really speculate na mukhang posibleng mangyari and may maaaring magandang outline pero kung gagawin nila mas dapat ipakita ang antibodies na ipo-produce, is it the same or will it increase? It remains to be seen," Bravo said.
(Unfortunately we have not seen enough data for this. But I would really speculate that it can happen and there may be a good outline. But if they do it, they should take note of the antibodies that will be produced, like is it the same? Or will it increase? It remains to be seen.)
As of April 22, around 1,612,420 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered out of the 3,025,600 vaccines distributed across LGUs. The government seeks to vaccinate 70 million of the country's population to achieve herd immunity.
The government received 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines last Thursday but has yet to distribute these to local government units, who have pointed out that they are running out of vaccine jabs for their residents.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/24/21/effectivity-mix-match-covid-19-vaccines
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