Spain to trial mixing COVID-19 vaccines
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Spain will study the effects of mixing different coronavirus vaccines, government researchers said on Monday, responding to shifting guidelines on the safety of the AstraZeneca’s shot.
Along with several other European countries, Spain has restricted vaccines produced by the Anglo-Swedish drug maker to people over 60 after regulators linked it to a rare form of brain blood clots, mostly in younger women.
“After decisions by various European public health authorities to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in under 60-year-olds, we are setting out to urgently find scientific evidence to support decision-making around possible alternatives,” Raquel Yotti, director of the Carlos III Health Institute, told a news conference.
The trial will draw on a sample of 600 people of all ages from across Spain, said Jesus Frias Iniesta, clinical research coordinator at Carlos III.
“The study’s objective is…to determine within 28 days whether a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine can be given to patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine,” he said.
A British study on mixing vaccines was expanded last week to include shots made by Moderna and Novavax, while France and Germany are considering giving an alternative to under 60s who received a first dose of AstraZeneca.