Covishield after Covaxin best booster: CMC study

VELLORE: The study undertaken by CMC Hospital on the effects of mixed vaccine dosage has revealed that Covishield after Covaxin offered the best immune response among the four combinations evaluated with no related adverse event reported in any of the groups.

The result was published by the study’s principal investigator Dr Winsely Rose in the medical journal Lancet.

The study was undertaken to check the efficacy of either Covishield or Covaxin when used as a booster dose in patients. “The study would end in January,” Dr Rose said. “After that, it’d be submitted to the DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) after which it’d be submitted to top international medical journals like Lancet or NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) for publication.”

In July 2021, a report was sent to the Lancet for pre-print publication to ensure access by everyone before it was peer reviewed, sources revealed.

Started in September 2021, it was difficult initially to find patients who were vaccinated with Covaxin. To begin with, 200 participants who had taken Covishield as initial dose were given Covaxin as the booster.

The researchers also found 500 participants who were not vaccinated and used them as part of the study.

The study found that when Covishield was the booster dose, the results were very good.

“Covishield with Covishield was also not very good as also Covaxin being given as booster for Covishield,” he added. “The best booster dose according to the study was Covishield.”