The Oxford University, funded by the UK government vaccine taskforce, is reportedly seeking volunteers that are willing to participate in the world’s first clinical trial to assess the viability of giving people different doses of the coronavirus vaccine, wherein the first dose is of one vaccine and the second dose of another. The new trial has been hailed by ministers in UK as “hugely important”.

The trial will enroll over 820 individuals aged above 50 years who have yet to receive a vaccine. The participants would receive a first jab of either of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

After this, some people would receive a jab containing an alternative vaccine during a second session, which would take place within 12 weeks of the first jab. Meanwhile, some other participants would get the same jab again.

The vaccinations Green Book by Public Health England already advises the NHS that under exceptional circumstances if individuals come in for their second jab and the coronavirus vaccine they had originally is no longer available, then they can be administered a different jab.

The scientific and medical community wants to know what kind of protection people would get from mixing of vaccines; whether it’s the same, lower, or better when compared to a regime where people stick to one vaccine throughout.

Given that a steady vaccine supply is currently under question, researchers state that the data they collect will prove to be immensely useful for the UK and for the world.

Supposedly, there is also a possibility that administering two separate vaccines to someone might provide them higher protection against the virus, especially the more infectious and deadly variants that have been discovered in UK, Brazil, and South Africa.

Volunteers who would be enrolled through the NHS website, would have their blood samples taken to measure antibodies’ buildup following vaccination. Some participants would have their second jab after four weeks, while some would get it after 12 weeks. This would help the trial get more insight into the government’s policy of extending the dosage gap.

Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/04/oxford-trial-to-test-efficacy-of-mix-of-covid-vaccines-for-individuals