UK begins world-first alternate dose COVID-19 vaccine trial
February 04, 2021 15:15
Health chiefs in the UK on Thursday began what they have described as a world-first clinical trial of patients who will receive different COVID-19 vaccines for their first or second dose, to detect its impact on immunity against coronavirus.
The study, backed by 7 million pound of government funding, will determine the effects of using different vaccines for the first and second dose for example, using Oxford University/AstraZeneca's vaccine for the first dose, followed by Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine for the second. It is being run by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium (NISEC) across eight National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) supported sites and also gather immunological evidence on different intervals between the first and second dose for a mixed-vaccine regimen against control groups when the same vaccine is used for both doses.
"This is a hugely important clinical trial that will provide us with more vital evidence on the safety of these vaccines when used in different ways," said Nadhim Zahawi, Minister for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment. "Nothing will be approved for use more widely than the study, or as part of our vaccine deployment programme, until researchers and the regulator are absolutely confident the approach is safe and effective. This is another great step forward for British science, expertise and innovation, backed by government funding -- and I look forward to seeing what it produces," he said.
The 13-month study will monitor the impact of the different dosing regimens on patients' immune responses, which have the potential to be higher or lower than from the same dose regimen. Initial findings are expected to be released later in the year.
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