New Delhi: Hyderabad-based hospital conducted a pilot study to determine the safety profile of combining the two COVID-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin.
A study conducted by AIG Hospitals and researchers from the Asian Healthcare Foundation showed that mixing Covishield and Covaxin was ‘completely safe and no side effects’ for any of the participants.
330 healthy volunteers, who have not been vaccinated and have no history of COVID-19 infection, were selected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study. Of these, 44 participants (13%) were found to have seronegative, i.e., no COVID-related antibodies.
“One of the accidental findings in the study was the instability of seropositivity among our people. 87% of participants who had not been vaccinated and never tested for COVID-19 had COVID-related antibodies. This means that it is possible that our number has improved important antibodies against COVID-19 because of the huge Delta wave we were enduring, ”said Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals.
India, like many other countries, is currently experiencing a third wave trend driven by the Omicron diversity. Although preliminary data suggest that the wave will be milder than Delta hospitalized, a large portion of the population may be affected, according to researchers.
With the Union Government mandating “Prevention” immunizations for health care workers, the elderly, and the number of people at risk, it is important to find the immune system produced by a combination of available vaccines. It is also important that safety profiles are well established before handling different vaccines such as preventative or booster doses, the researchers added.
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The 44 participants were divided into two groups of four.
Group 1: First Volume Covishield + Second Volume Covishield
Group 2: First dose of Covaxin + Second dose of Covaxin
Groups 1 and 2 were the same vaccine groups where the vaccine was given and appropriate antibody subjects were tested.
Group 3: First dose of Covishield + Second dose of Covaxin
Group 4: First dose of Covaxin + Second dose of Covishield
Groups 3 and 4 were different vaccines where different vaccines were given and antibody titers tested. All 44 participants were followed for 60 days to see if there were any side effects.
The study found that mixing vaccines was completely safe as none of the participants had any adverse effects. The most important finding in the study was that Spike-protein antibodies made it easier to find in mixed vaccine groups that were significantly higher than the same vaccine groups.
“Spike-protein neutralizing antibodies kill the virus and reduce overall infection. We found that when the first and second doses were different, the response of the Spike-protein antibody was four times higher than the two doses of the vaccine. The same vaccine,” said Dr. Reddy.
“This is especially important when considering a third booster volume. The idea of a booster is to get a strong antibody response and help kill the virus. Mixed doses can increase these Spikeprotein antibodies and will improve the effectiveness of vaccines even when compared to Omicron variants, ”he added.
Research results show that the combination of Covishield and Covaxin provides a higher immune response and is also safe.
AIG hospitals shared research data with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) which will be considered as a reference study while determining the “Prevention” doses starting January 10.
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