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The combination of a vaccination with AstraZeneca and from Biontech/Pfizer is more effective than vaccination with AstraZeneca alone, according to a study.
Scientists at the Technical University of Munich, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Erlangen University Hospital and Cologne University Hospital examined the immune response in a retrospective study that appeared in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
According to the researchers, this involved analyzing the blood of around 500 volunteers who had received a second vaccination with the mRNA vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer eight to twelve weeks after their first vaccination with the vaccine from AstraZeneca. “The neutralizing antibody response was much stronger in these subjects than in people who received AstraZeneca’s vaccine twice,” Erlangen University Hospital said Friday. The immune response to the combination vaccine was at least as good as the antibody response after two vaccinations with Biontech/Pfizer, they said.
The researchers conclude that the combination vaccine can also be used in cases of individual intolerance or supply shortages. They hope this cross-vaccination will be “another building block to improve the efficacy of Covid 19 vaccination in general.” However, they say this will require further studies to confirm the safety and clinical efficacy of this and other combination vaccines.
In Austria, cross-vaccination is already possible, according to the National Immunization Panel’s (NIG) recommendation for use. “If severe adverse reactions have occurred after a first dose that justify a vaccine switch, in the case of adverse reactions that constitute a medical contraindication for a second vaccination with the same vaccine, or if this is urgently desirable from the point of view of the person to be vaccinated, a vaccine switch should be offered,” it says, citing a lack of approval for such a heterologous vaccination regimen (off-label use). A heterologous vaccination schedule should also be considered if pregnancy occurs after the first dose with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- source: k.at/picture: https://www.forschung-und-lehre.de/
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