Britain Opens Door to Mix-and-Match Vaccinations, Worrying Experts
If a second dose of one vaccine isn’t available, another may be substituted, according to the guidelines.
Britain has been moving away from the dosing regimens tested in late-stage clinical trials of the vaccines the country is deploying.Credit.Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse Getty Images
Published Jan. 1, 2021Updated Jan. 27, 2021
Amid a sputtering vaccine rollout and fears of a new and potentially more transmissible variant of the coronavirus, Britain has quietly updated its vaccination playbook to allow for a mix-and-match vaccine regimen. If a second dose of the vaccine a patient originally received isn’t available, or if the manufacturer of the first shot isn’t known, another vaccine may be substituted, health officials said.