Meanwhile, alternating doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines generates a robust immune response against COVID-19, according to researchers running the University of Oxford-led Com-COV study.
In a paper published on the Lancet pre-print server, they report that both “mixed” schedules (Pfizer-BioNTech followed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Oxford-AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer-BioNTech) induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart.
The finding suggests there could be greater flexibility and overlap in vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines moving forward.
Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, and Chief Investigator on the trial, said: “The Com-COV study has evaluated ‘mix and match’ combinations of the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines to see to what extent these vaccines can be used interchangeably, potentially allowing flexibility in the UK and global vaccine roll-out.
