The Government is not deviating from its vaccine plan despite Germany and Canada implementing 'mix and match' jab schemes to ensure Covid vaccine rollouts continue amidst pressure on global supply.
The latest Oxford trial studying immune responses of 850 volunteers over the age of 50 showed strong Covid immunity generated among those given either two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca, or one jab of each.
Oxford researchers say the results don't undermine the practice of giving people two shots of the same brand but it does offer flexibility to countries dealing with the global shortfall of vaccines that looks set to continue for months.
“This is a really positive finding because it gives us other options, we can go forward with more confidence in terms of mixing and matching our vaccines,” vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said.
“We need to have lots of different options up our sleeve as we go forward; this a long-term game, we need to be agile and having this flexibility will be really helpful I think.”
For now, the Government's not deviating from its plan to vaccinate all New Zealanders with two shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
It says a little under 50,000 vaccines arrived last week and a shipment of 150,000 doses is expected here on Tuesday morning.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement the Government is not currently considering mixed doses of Covid vaccines, but is keeping an eye on the science in this space.
Experts will be too, already aware there could be benefits to a mix and match approach here.
“Some vaccines might be a little better to use in some groups than other groups and things like that, so I think it’s going to be important going forward,” Petousis-Harris said.
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