Mixing of India’s 2 COVID-19 vaccines in India might become a reality. According to reports coming in today, The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seem to have accepted a proposal that a research to be conducted to analyze mixing a dose of each of the two vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The Indigenous made COVAXIN and Covishield are likely to be part of this effort. “Permission has been granted for a research study at CMC Vellore on mixing of vaccine doses,” Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog, said according to an agency report.
DGCI gives nod for mixing of COVID Vaccine Doses in India
The Subjects Experts Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had, on July 29, recommended that a study be conducted in this regard at Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore in the southern state.
The proposed trial will see 300 volunteers being administered a dose each of Covaxin and Covishield.
The study will aim to determine whether two different vaccine doses could be administered for a person to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease, instead of the existing practice of administering twin shots of the same vaccine.
The exercise, however, is different from recent research conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which concluded that combining two different shots is “safe and effective.” The ICMR research had analysed an “accidental” mixing of Covishield and Covaxin in a village in Uttar Pradesh, in May.
The incident saw recipients being administered Covaxin as the second dose, six weeks after they received Covishield as first. On analysing this, the ICMR found that “combining two different Covid-19 vaccines gives better immune response than two doses of the same vaccine.”
