UK starts trial of mixed Oxford-pfizer protocol
The trial will show if different doses will give greater flexibility in pressured vaccine delivery schedules
LONDON: The University of Oxford is set to begin a trial combining Covid-19 vaccines from Astrazeneca Plc and Pfizer Inc. that could enable greater flexibility in the use of scarce supplies globally.
The university will begin recruiting 820 participants over 50 years of age across eight UK sites this week, according to a statement on Thursday. The Astra and Pfizer vaccines will be given in different orders and with two dosing intervals, four and 12 weeks apart.
The trial will allow researchers to see whether two shots of different vaccines produce better or worse results than two doses of the same product. The study could be key to relieving pressure on individual vaccine makers to deliver shots if they run into manufacturing difficulties.
Supply delays from Astra and other drugmakers have prompted tensions with the European Union, spurring the EU to introduce export controls to help shore up its own vaccines.
Enrolment should be completed this month, with initial data expected around June, according to Matthew Snape, the Oxford investigator leading the trial.
“It’s a great combination of science and policy,” Snape said on Wednesday.
Oxford University announced on Thursday it will launch a medical trial alternating doses of Covid-19 vaccines created by different manufacturers, the first study of its kind. The trial will show whether different Covid doses - those created by the Astrazeneca and Pfizer-biontech pharma companies - can be used interchangeably to allow greater flexibility in pressured vaccine delivery schedules. The British government’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-tam, said the trial would offer “greater insight” into the use of vaccines against Covid. “Given the inevitable challenges of immunising large numbers of the population against Covid-19 and potential global supply constraints, there are definite advantages to having data that could support a more flexible immunisation programme,” Van-tam said. “It is also even possible that by combining vaccines, the immune response could be enhanced giving even higher antibody levels that last longer,” Van-tam added. The 13-month study will compare different combinations of prime and booster doses of the Astrazeneca and Pfizer vaccines at intervals of four and 12 weeks.
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