Bahamas plans to mix AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine

Minister of Health of Bahamas Renward Wells gave a recent update on the mixing of vaccines to the people. As The Bahamas awaits a tranche of Pfizer doses from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX Facility and could offer beneficiaries of AstraZeneca a 2nd dose of the US-manufactured vaccine, studies have shown that vaccine mixing offers strong immune protection. In a statement, he pointed out that to exi

Thursday, 15th July 2021

Bahamas: Minister of Health of Bahamas Renward Wells gave a recent update on the mixing of vaccines to the people. As The Bahamas awaits a tranche of Pfizer doses from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX Facility and could offer beneficiaries of AstraZeneca a 2nd dose of the US-manufactured vaccine, studies have shown that vaccine mixing offers strong immune protection. In a statement, he pointed out that to existing studies where mixing of AstraZeneca and Pfizer were found to have been “very effective”. However, he did not definitively say whether The Bahamas would adopt the measure. As per the preliminary results of the CombivacS Spanish study, the presence of antibodies in the bloodstream was between 30 & 40 times more in people who got the follow-up Pfizer shot than others in the control group, who only got one AstraZeneca dose. The presence of neutralizing antibodies rose sevenfold after a Pfizer dose — more than double the effect observed when receiving a second dose of AstraZeneca. Nearly 700 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 59 participated in the state-backed study, with around 450 given a Pfizer dose. However, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist advised against mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccine doses on Monday, calling it a “dangerous trend” given the limited data about the long-term health impact. The government of Vietnam announced on Monday that it would offer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer as a second-dose option for individuals who were first inoculated with AstraZeneca. It said Pfizer would be prioritized for people who were given the first shot of AstraZeneca eight to 12 weeks before. Other countries have adopted a similar approach. Canada, Spain and South Korea have approved dose-mixing due to concerns about rare but possible blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Amid concerns about coronavirus variants, including the Delta strain, Wells said the vaccines have proven effective against all five variants of concern, maintaining that it is not a matter of if but when the Delta variant is confirmed in The Bahamas.