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Mixing different kinds of COVID-19 vaccine might help boost immune responses, but the idea has been slow to catch on.
Typically, if you get a COVID-19 vaccine that requires two doses, you should get two of the same vaccine. Two Pfizer shots, or two Moderna shots. Not one and then the other.
But in the future, that could change, either by necessity or by design.
This idea of using two types of vaccines isn t a new concept. It s known as heterologous vaccination, although there s a more colloquial term. In the U.K. at the moment, we re sort of calling it mix and match, says Helen Fletcher, a professor of immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She says shortages of a vaccine or concerns about side effects may induce health officials to adopt a mix-and-match strategy.
But in the future, that could change, either by necessity or by design.
This idea of using two types of vaccines isn t a new concept. It s known as heterologous vaccination, although there s a more colloquial term. In the U.K. at the moment, we re sort of calling it mix and match, says Helen Fletcher, a professor of immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She says shortages of a vaccine or concerns about side effects may induce health officials to adopt a mix-and-match strategy.
Health agencies in France and Germany are already encouraging people who ve gotten the AstraZeneca vaccine to consider getting one of the mRNA vaccines for their second shot.
As U.S. prepares to restrict travelers from India, Bay Area experts are skeptical about its impact
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Passengers arriving on international flights get their Covid-19 coronavirus screening done at the Anna International airport in Chennai on April 28, 2021.Arun Sankar / AFP via Getty Images
Amid a deepening coronavirus crisis in India, the Biden administration announced it will institute travel restrictions next week that would bar travelers from entering the country if they’d been in India within the past two weeks.
In a statement Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the new policy will take effect Tuesday in light of India’s mounting COVID-19 caseload.
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Covid claims 3m lives as burden shifts to poorer nations
The real death toll from Covid-19 is likely far higher than 3 million, due to under and patchy reporting around the world.
By Jinshan Hong, Bloomberg
19 Apr 2021 07:35
Image: Bloomberg
The relentless pace of death from the global Covid-19 pandemic is continuing unabated despite global vaccination efforts, and is now being increasingly borne by the poorest places in the world.
More than 3 million lives have been lost as a result of the novel coronavirus that emerged in 2019, with the latest 1 million recorded deaths coming even faster than the first two. It took about 8.5 months after the initial fatality in China to mark the first million, and just another 3.5 months to reach the second million.
COVID-19 Deaths Top 3 Million Globally By Ralph Ellis
April 19, 2021 Even though vaccinations are increasing in the developed nations, the coronavirus continues its deadly march around the world. On Saturday, Johns Hopkins University reported the 3 millionth global death from COVID-19.
The United States has more than 567,000 coronavirus-related deaths, the most of any nation, followed by Brazil (373,000 deaths), Mexico (212,000), India (179,000), and the United Kingdom (127,500).
The virus has moved swiftly since the first COVID death was reported in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 11, 2020. Within eight-and-a-half months on Sept. 28, 1 million lives had been lost. But just three-and-a-half more months later on Jan 15, the 2 million mark was reached. It took about three months to record 3 million deaths on Saturday.