DOST: Around 3,000 to participate in COVID-19 vaccine 'mix and match' trials

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Monday said 3,000 people will participate in the country's clinical trials on mixing different COVID-19 vaccine brands.

In a radio interview, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said each arm of the clinical trials will have 250 to 500 participants, receiving different combinations of COVID-19 vaccine brands.

“Kunwari, combination ng Sinovac-Janssen, isa na 250 ‘yun. Tapos 250 ulit ‘yung Sinovac-Moderna. So lahat ‘yan 3,000,” she said.

(For instance, a combination of Sinovac-Janssen, that’s one group of 250 participants. Then another 250 participants for Sinovac-Moderna. So that’s 3,000 in all)

The Philippines’ study on the safety and efficacy of mixing different COVID-19 vaccine brands will be pilot-tested in the cities of Marikina, Muntinlupa, and Davao.

Currently, Guevarra said the DOST is working on the dry run.

Guevarra said that the study aims to determine the most effective combination of COVID-19 vaccine brands for Filipinos.

The mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine boosters may give a stronger immune response than sticking to one type of jab, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday.

EMA said it is studying data to see if it will follow a decision by United States authorities to allow the use of a different vaccine for follow-up shots. —KBK, GMA News