Wednesday 14 July 2021
‘Dangerous trend’
WHO warns against unauthorized mixing of vaccines
When the AstraZeneca vaccine became infamous, many were already vaccinated with it. To enable them to receive a second vaccination, Biontech is injected. But the World Health Organization is now warning against making the mixing process independent. Citizens should not mix different materials on their own. Even the organization fears chaos.
The World Health Organization (WHO) advises those who wish to be vaccinated against the random collection of coronavirus vaccines from various manufacturers. “Individuals should not make their own decisions, public health authorities can rely on the available data,” said Somya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization.
“Data from synthesis and matching studies for different vaccines are still pending – efficacy and safety must be evaluated.” The arbitrary combination of different vaccines is a “rather dangerous trend”. If citizens decide for themselves when and who will get a second, third or fourth dose, this leads to chaotic conditions. Such decisions should be left to the health authorities.
The World Health Organization’s vaccine expert group said in June that the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine could be used as a second dose after the first dose of Astrazeneca if the latter was not available. A clinical study at Oxford University uses cross-vaccinations with Astrazeneca and Biontech/Pfizer to determine whether giving a first dose of one type of vaccine and a second dose of another vaccine produces as good an immune response as using two doses of the same vaccine. The study was recently expanded to include Moderna and Novavax vaccines.
