DOST: Study on COVID-19 vaccine mixing to include booster shots

The local study on the mixing of COVID-19 vaccine brands will also look into booster shots, officials from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Tuesday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development chief Dr. Jaime Montoya said around 3,000 participants will be split into three groups.

He said one group will receive two doses of the same brand, another group will get Sinovac as their first dose and a different brand as their second dose, while the third group will be given a booster shot of a different brand after getting two Sinovac doses.

Montoya said the third group will include individuals belonging to the top three priority groups for vaccination: health workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.

DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña previously explained that the trial will study the safety and immunogenicity of combining other COVID-19 vaccine brands with the Sinovac shot “due to it being the most stable vaccine supply in the country.” 

In a health department forum, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said around P100 million will be needed to fund the study, which will be held in trial sites across Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

“Bigla-bigla tayong nagkakaroon ng problems sa delay ng mga vaccine delivery. So we would like to answer this question na, ‘If there is a delay, pwede bang mag-mix and match para matuloy ‘yung full dose ng mga nagkaroon na ng first dose?’” she said.

(We experience problems due to delays in vaccine delivery. So we would like to answer the question, ‘If there is a delay, can we mix and match brands so that those who have gotten their first dose can get their second dose?)

Guevara said the DOST hopes “to be able to answer that [question] within three months of the project’s start.”

She added that the study is expected to produce data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against new variants since the country has logged hundreds of coronavirus variant cases. 

The trial is seen to run from June 2021 to November 2022 after securing approval from the Food and Drug Administration and the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board.

The Philippines has administered over 4 million doses as of May 22, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 50 million to 70 million people this year.  —KBK, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/788545/philippine-vaccination-average-at-162-513-daily-ntf/story/