Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw bats for mix-and-match approach to Covid vaccines

New Delhi, July 02: Biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Friday said there is enough data to indicate that it is better to give two different vaccine shots for protection against Covid-19.

"There is a need to mix and match studies which will allow to speed up vaccinations. There is enough data available now to indicate that it is even better to give two different vaccine shots. Most vaccines are likely to be durable for at least a year, if not more," News18 quoted Shaw, as saying.

Several researchers hope that a mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 vaccines will help alleviate these issues and create more flexibility in the immunisation regimens available to people.

Around the world, different pharmaceutical companies have taken different approaches to developing vaccines. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna created mRNA vaccines. Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson went with what are called viral vectors.

The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine is protein-based. So mixing vaccines could mean more than just switching manufacturers like from Pfizer for dose one to Moderna for dose two. You might be tapping into a different way to stimulate your immune response if you opt for a first dose of AstraZeneca and a second dose of Moderna.

The most obvious benefits of treating various brands and kinds of COVID-19 vaccine as interchangeable are logistical people can get whatever shot is available without worry. By speeding up the global vaccination rollout, mixing and matching vaccines could help end this pandemic.

Researchers also hope combining different vaccines will trigger a more robust, longer-lasting immune response compared to receiving both doses of a single vaccine. This approach may better protect people from emerging variants. Biological effects of a mix-and-match approach Scientists suspect there are a few ways that receiving two different COVID-19 vaccines may result in a stronger immune response.