DOH won’t mix vaccines with different platforms yet

FILE PHOTO: Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. INQUIRER file photo / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines — Upon expert advice, the Department of Health (DOH) would likely not mix the use of COVID-19 vaccine brands pending the results of research, which are expected to come out later this year, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Saturday.

“They want to wait because according to our vaccine expert panel, there is this big study that is being done and results will be coming out this third quarter that could provide us with additional evidence to see if it’s really going to be safe and the efficacy will be the same if we mix and match,” Vergeire said at an online briefing.

The Philippines uses several vaccines that have different platforms, such as mRNA and viral vector, and the experts also recommended that the government use the same platform if it decides to mix vaccine brands.

“We have our all-experts groups and they said it is prudent for our government to delay the mixing and matching [of vaccines] because the evidence coming from around the globe does not include all the vaccines available in our country,” she said.

Studies in other countries suggested that mixing vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Pfizer produced a good immune response, but the government also has Sinovac, Sputnik V made by the Russian Gamaleya Institute and the US-made Moderna.

“If ever the evidence will be strong, the [emergency use authorization] has to be revised also,” she added.

While the authorities studied dosage protocols, a lawmaker representing barangay health workers asked the government to also acquire single-dose vaccines for the easier, faster inoculation of commuters and travelers.

“We also need a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine that can be easily shot into the arms of commuters and travelers. The single dose would be less hassle for all concerned,” Barangay Health Workers Rep. Angelica Natasha Co said in a statement.

The lawmaker made the appeal after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for Janssen’s COVID-19 jab, a single-shot, viral vector vaccine, which has demonstrated 66-percent efficacy in preventing infection.

Co also noted that Moderna is reportedly developing a single-dose mRNA vaccine that could be available in 2022, starting with India where the Delta variant of COVID-19 was first recorded.

“Purchases of the Janssen vaccine would have a significant impact on easing travel restrictions across local borders and with the world. The more vaccine choices the Filipinos have, the better for everyone,” she added.