Tag: astrazenca

  • WHO warns against mixing, matching Covid-19 vaccines, calls it ‘dangerous trend’

    WHO warns against mixing, matching Covid-19 vaccines, calls it ‘dangerous trend’

     The World Health Organization’s chief scientist on Monday advised people not to mix and match Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous trend” since there was little data available about the health impact.

    “It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here. We are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix and match,” Soumya Swaminathan told an online briefing.

    “It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who will be taking a second, a third and a fourth dose.”

    Read More: Study shows AstraZeneca, Pfizer vaccines effective against Delta Covid-19 variants

    The advice came after a study conducted in the United Kingdom earlier found that adopting a mix-and-match approach to Covid-19 vaccines gives a more robust immune response. 

  • Study shows AstraZeneca, Pfizer vaccines effective against Delta Covid-19 variants

    Study shows AstraZeneca, Pfizer vaccines effective against Delta Covid-19 variants

    COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance remain broadly effective against Delta and Kappa variants of the COVID-19 which were first identified in India, according to a scientific study.

    According to the details, the study by Oxford University researchers, published in the journal Cell, examined the ability of antibodies in the blood from people, who were vaccinated with the two-shot regimens, to neutralize the highly contagious Delta and Kappa variants, a statement said.

    “There is no evidence of widespread escape suggesting that the current generation of vaccines will provide protection against the B.1.617 lineage,” the paper said, referring to the Delta and Kappa variants by a commonly used code.

    However, the concentration of neutralising antibodies in the blood was somewhat reduced, which may lead to some breakthrough infections, they warned.

    Last week, an analysis by the Public Health England (PHE) showed that vaccines made by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90% against hospitalization from the Delta variant. 

    “We are encouraged to see the non-clinical results published from Oxford and these data, alongside the recent early real-world analysis from Public Health England, provide us with a positive indication that our vaccine can have significant impact against the Delta variant,” AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos said in a separate statement.

    The Delta variant is becoming the globally dominant version of the disease, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist said on Friday.

    The Oxford researchers also analysed reinfection patterns in people who had previously had COVID-19. The risk of reinfection with the Delta variant appeared particularly high in individuals previously infected by the Beta and Gamma lineages that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, respectively.

    By contrast, previous infection with the Alpha, or B117, variant first detected in Britain, conferred “reasonable” cross-protection against all variants of concern, lending itself as a template that next-generation vaccines could be molded on.

    “B117 might be a candidate for new variant vaccines to provide the broadest protection,” the researchers said.