In a progressive move, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), on Tuesday, gave the approval to conduct a study on mixing doses of the two main made-in-India? vaccines- Covishield and Covaxin.
As per reports, the clinical trials of the study would be conducted by Vellore’s Christian Medical College, Tamil Nadu.
Permission has been granted for a research study by CMC Vellore (Tamil Nadu) on mixing of vaccines doses, said Dr V K Paul from Niti Aayog during a press briefing on Tuesday.
This study came amid speculations of the third wave of COVID-19. Earlier, a similar study was conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which stated that mixing two COVID-19 vaccines would result in a strong immune response.
However, experts working on this particular study believed that it would be different from the one conducted by ICMR.
Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had recommended conducting the study on July 29.
The main objective of this study is to determine that whether or not, a person can be given two doses of different COVID-19 vaccines to complete the course.
There are many questions that are still unanswered in terms of COVID-19 vaccine and its efficiency. However, if experts were to be believed, this study might help us in getting answers to some of them.