Health leaders in the UK began on Thursday what they described as the world’s first clinical trial of patients receiving various COVID-19 vaccines for the first or second dose, to determine its effect on immunity seek the coronavirus face.
The study, backed by 7 million pounds of government funding, confirms the impact of using different vaccines for the first and second dose for example, using the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose. , and then a Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for the second dose.
It is run by the National Vaccination Register Assessment Consortium (NISEC) across eight sites with support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and also gathers immunological evidence at different times between the first and the second dose for a mixed vaccine schedule against control groups when the same vaccine is used for both doses.
“This is a very important clinical trial that will provide us with more critical evidence on the safety of these vaccines when used in different ways,” said Nadhim Zahawi, Minister for the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
Nothing will be agreed for wider use than the study, or as part of our vaccine use program, so that researchers and the regulator can be fully confident that the approach is safe and effective. This is another major step forward for Britain ‘s science, knowledge and innovation, backed by government funding – and I look forward to seeing what it does, he said.
The 13-month study monitors the effect of different dosing regimens on patient immune responses, which have the potential to be higher or lower than from the same dose regimen. Preliminary results are expected to be published later in the year.
Given the inevitable challenges of vaccinating large numbers of the population against COVID-19 and potential global supply constraints, there are definite benefits in obtaining data from ‘a more flexible vaccination program could be supported, if needed and agreed with the medicines regulator,’ said Dr Jonathan Van-Tam, England ‘s Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Chief Responsible Officer for the study.
It is possible that even by combining vaccines, the immune response could be enhanced yielding even higher antibody levels that last longer; if this is not assessed in a clinical trial we will not know exactly. This study will give us more insight into how we can use vaccines to stay on top of this strange disease, he said.
The study has received ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee, as well as approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
More than 800 patients are expected to take part in the study, known as the COVID-19 Heterologous Prime Boost or Com-Cov ‘study, across eight different sites across England – including London, Birmingham and Liverpool.
Demonstrating that these vaccines can be used interchangeably in the same table will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery, and may provide hints as to how you can extend the scope of protection against new strains of viruses. Chief Investigator Matthew Snape, Associate Professor of pediatrics and vaccination at Oxford University, said.
If the study shows promising results, the UK government says it could consider revising the vaccine regimen approach if necessary, once it has been proven to be safe and recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Vaccination (JCVI).
“We need people from all backgrounds to take part in this test, so we can make sure we have vaccine options that suit everyone. Signing up voluntarily for a quick vaccine check-up is a must. and easily through the NHS Vaccine Monitoring Program, said Dr. Andrew Ustianowski, National Clinical Director for the NIHR COVID Vaccine Research Program.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said a single-dose regimen is currently being implemented for the UK-wide COVID-19 vaccination program, and there are no plans to change this.
This study will not affect anyone who has received the Pfizer / BioNTech or Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the UK-wide delivery plan. They receive a second dose from the same source and over the same 12-week interval.
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