German vaccine experts: No risks in vaccine switch after first Astra dose

Germany's vaccine advisory committee sees no disadvantages or risks from giving younger recipients of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine a second dose of an alternative shot, two of its members said on Wednesday. "Nobody expects from an immunological perspective that there will be a disadvantage to getting a second dose of another vaccine," Marianne Roebl-Mathieu, a member of the standing committee on vaccinations, told an online briefing.

Studies involving mixing vaccine doses are underway. The German committee recommended last week that people aged under 60 who had received one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine should get a second dose of another vaccine following reports of rare blood clotting events.

Should a second dose prove ineffective, a third dose could be effective, added Roeble Mathieu. Her colleague on the panel, Christian Bogdan, said he had seen no evidence linking other vaccines to the rare blood clotting disorders.