India To Test Usefulness Of Mixing Doses Of 2 Different Vaccines: Govt official

Mumbai: India may soon start testing the feasibility of a regimen that mixes doses of two different COVID-19 vaccines to see if it boosts the immune response to the virus, an official of an advisory committee of the Centre said.

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NK Arora, who heads the COVID Working Group under the National Technical Advisory Group on Vaccination (NTAGI), said the country plans to test whether vaccine supplements from two different manufacturers helps boost the immune response to the virus.

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The head of the central panel said, “India may soon begin testing the feasibility of a diet that mixes two different doses of COVID vaccines to see if it helps boost the immune response to the virus.”

Arora further stated that by August India will have 20 to 25 vaccine doses per month and another 5-6 million doses from other manufacturing units or abroad. “The aim is to immunize 1 crore, people, every day,” he said.

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The clarification came after 20 people in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district, who had been given Covishield in the first dose, were accidentally administered Covaxin.

Currently, two Made-in-India vaccines – Covishield manufactured by SII and Covaxin of Bharat Biotech – are being administered to people in India under the COVID-19 vaccination program.

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Russian Sputnik V is the third vaccine to receive approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use and is being used in some private hospitals.

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