No recommendation on mix and match  of  Covid-19 doses till now

• Follow

The Centre government has not made any recommendation till now on the mix-and-match of Covid-19 vaccination jabs. Scientific evidence about mix and match studies of different vaccines is still evolving, Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister of state for health said in a written reply. The World Health Organization has also not given any specific recommendation on mix and match of vaccines, the minister added.

Earlier, the covid-19 working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) was considering allowing mixing and matching of Covid-19 doses. It had however pointed out that both the doses should be from a similar platform.

Mix and match of doses

This means that a person who has taken Covidshield as the first dose can opt for a second dose of the Sputnik V because both the vaccines use adenoviruses to deliver antigens to the body. Similarly, Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine are both mRNA jabs that can be considered for mix and match combo.

However, the final decision over the implementation of this has not been taken yet. It will be based on enough scientific proof. A formal advisory will soon be released in this regard.

For now, the government will continue to encourage people to use the same vaccine for both doses.

“The main purpose of such mix-and-match is only for making vaccination easy. People who are not getting the second dose of the same vaccine due to reasons ranging from unavailability of the brand to access may go for mix-and-match,” Arora said.

NTAGI will meet later this month.