In the next two months, the effectiveness of heterologous vaccine doses against new Covid variants is likely to emerge, as the trial in Vellore’s Christian Medical College is nearing the end.
Leading virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, professor at the Christian Medical College (CMC), told The Times of India (TOI), the institution was nearing the end of its study on heterologous doses. After the effectiveness of heterologous vaccine doses is known, particularly if boosters with heterologous platforms broaden the immune response and the ability to neutralise a broader range of variants, it will help understand its effect on new variants, too, she said.
What are heterologous doses?
In a heterologous priming schedule, the second dose uses a different vaccine product than the first dose. By contrast, heterologous boosting refers to the administration of a vaccine from a different vaccine platform from the vaccine that was used to complete the primary vaccine series.
In a heterologous doses trial, a participant receives Covaxin followed by Covishield or vice versa- while Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine, Covishield is a non-replicating viral vector vaccine.
In July this year, the Drug Controller General of India had approved the trial of heterologous vaccine doses. It was reportedly commenced in August to evaluate this combination as opposed to the current policy of both doses being the same vaccine. Lead scientist and researcher Dr Winsley Rose told TOI that the objective of the trial was to study the safety and immunogenicity (antibodies produced and its effectiveness) of heterologous vaccines against the same two-dose vaccine. He said this was a two-part study.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment