STUDY: NO ADVERSE EFFECTS BY MIXING SPUTNIK LIGHT, ASTRAZENECA JABS

The world’s first study on using a cocktail of the Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik Light vaccine has shown “no serious adverse events or cases of coronavirus after vaccination”.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the main backer of the Sputnik V vaccine, on Friday announced the initial safety results of the first study on using a combination of the two vaccines that was done in Azerbaijan.

“Studies on safety and immunogenicity of the combination of the Astrazeneca vaccine and the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine in Azerbaijan began in February 2021. To date, 50 volunteers have been vaccinated and new participants are invited to join the trial. Interim analysis of the data demonstrates a high safety profile for the combined use of the vaccines with no serious adverse events or cases of coronavirus after vaccination,” RDIF said in a statement.

RDIF and its partners will publish initial data on the immunogenicity of the combined use of the Astrazeneca vaccine and the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine in Azerbaijan in August.

Covishield, the version of the Astrazeneca vaccine made in India, is one of the two main jabs being used for the national immunisation programme. RDIF has concluded agreements with several Indian pharmaceutical firms, including the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture more than 300 million doses of the jab in India, with production set to start in September. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev recently told a virtual news briefing that the developers of Sputnik V are looking at using the vaccine along with the Astrazeneca dose in a “mix and match” format.

NEW DELHI:

INTERIM ANALYSIS SHOWS A HIGH SAFETY PROFILE FOR COMBINED USE OF THE VACCINES, THE RDIF SAID