Mixing and matching of vaccines will help overcome shortage: Dr Gagandeep Kang

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], August 5 : Mixing of COVID-19 vaccines should be done with the ones available in India, Dr Gagandeep Kang, Christian Medical College, Vellore's professor, and top microbiologist and virologist said on Thursday adding that it will help to overcome the vaccine shortage.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Kang said, "There are many studies being done around the world and studies on Viral vector vaccines and mRNA vaccines show that our immune system becomes better if you mix vaccines. So that's good for us to know and we should try and see that happens with the vaccines that are available in India."
Notably, there are many countries that are doing research on the mixing and matching of Covid-19 vaccines. Recently, Sputnik V has also shown no serious illness during trials during the of mixing Sputnik V and Astrazeneca vaccines.
Recently, the Subject Expert Committee has also given permission to Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore to start trials for mixing of Covid-19 vaccines administered in India - Covishield and Covaxin.
Dr Kang also said that the mixing and matching of Covid -19 vaccines will help to overcome the vaccine shortage.
"The most important thing is that we have been seeing vaccine shortages and people having to wait at vaccination centre be disappointed when they don't get the second dose. The advantage is that knowing that you can give any vaccine, it is good for the programme and good for people. So, it doesn't matter which vaccine you get, you know that your chances of being protected are very high," she said.
"There is a programmatic reason as well as a scientific reason for these studies and I think we are going to need many more of them. CMC is one of them who are starting this study but I know many others are also planning to do such studies," she added.
"We should actually be thinking of future vaccines and planning these studies as early as possible," she further said.