The UK advises against mixing vaccines from different providers

According to the Spanish news agency, Efe, The warning from this British health agency comes two days before the acceleration of the national immunization program, with the introduction of a second vaccine against the new coronavirus, from the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical AstraZeneca, recently approved by British regulators.

This vaccine can be used in conjunction with the previously licensed Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which began to be administered to the population in December.

In a series of recommendations released on New Year’s Eve by the Government to health professionals from the National Health Service, the British equivalent of the National Health Service, it was indicated that if a person had already received a first injection of the two doses required, and the second was not available, it was “reasonable” to offer a dose of another vaccine.

“This option is preferable if the individual is likely to be at immediate high risk or is considered unlikely to return,” it was said then.

After the doubts raised in recent days about the risks of this option, the head of the UK vaccination program, Mary Ramsay, explained this Saturday (2) to the British channel Sky News that “mixing” the two vaccines is not recommended and it should only be done “on rare occasions”.

“We do not recommend mixing covid-19 vaccines; if the first dose of the vaccine is from Pfizer, AstraZeneca should not be administered in the second dose and vice versa,” said the official, adding, however, that “there can be very rare in which the same type of vaccine is not available or in which the vaccine administered to the patient in the first dose is unknown “.