
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines mixed with Pfizer or Moderna shots creates an enhanced immune response, according to Germany.
On Friday, Germany recommended the same this formula and claimed that it enhance immune responses against COVID-19 and at the same time, it also shorten the interval period between the two shots.
The NHK World reported that the government of Germany has asked people to either chose the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for their second dose.
The country’s standing committee drafted a recommendation to on vaccination, a day before to the same effect.
The second dose must be administered four weeks or more after the first AstraZeneca shot, the committee further recommended although it recommends a gap of nine or more weeks between two doses of AstraZeneca.
A research group from Britain’s Oxford University shared on last monday that a stronger immune response was generated by the combination of of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines compared to that of two rounds of AstraZeneca in a trial.
On Thursday, the head of the WHO’s expert panel, Joachim Hombach, said that it was a “great news” as it’ll offer more flexibility to the countries facing constraints in vaccine supply.
However, Hombach further said that no other vaccines except AstraZeneca and Pfizer should be mixed as the efficacy and safety of mixing other vaccines are being studied.