The government of India is considering the approval of the usage of the mixed vaccination drive that is implemented in various countries and turned successful. The Indian government is in plans to approve the usage of Sputnik V (Russian vaccine) and Covishield (SII). If approved, the Indians will get a chance to take the dose of Covishield and the second dose would be of Sputnik V. This can also be taken in the other sequence as per the availability. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has been discussing about this for a while about mixing the vaccines. Most of the studies revealed that mixing and matching the right vaccines is safer and produces a strong immune system.

National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) also revealed that the shortage of vaccine supply will be resolved very soon. The mixing and matching of vaccines is called Heterologous Prime and the process boosted the immune system in diseases like AIDS and Ebola. The researchers in the United Kingdom found the mix of AstraZeneca and Pfizer generates robust immune responses. Some of the people who took mixed doses got mild side effects like fever, headache and fatigue. The side-effects lived for a short time and there were no safety concerns. With positive results all over, the Indian government too is keen to introduce the mixed dose vaccination at the earliest.

By Siva Kumar