WHO DOESN’T RECOMMEND CROSS-VACCINATION VS COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend so-called cross-vaccination against COVID-19, which means using different vaccines for the two doses required to be fully immunized.

WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) on Friday, that there was not yet sufficient data on the possible risks of a first vaccination dose with AstraZeneca and another agent for the second dose.

In her statements, Harris referred to a preliminary recommendation of a WHO expert panel from February. According to this, the same product should be injected for both vaccinations for the time being.

The experts called for further research to check the use of a mixture of vaccines. In Germany, there is some pressure to use just such a cross-vaccination, as people under 60 are no longer receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the risk of blood clots.

According to German Health Minister Jens Spahn, however, 2.2 million citizens under 60 have already received a first vaccination with AstraZeneca.

The question now is how these people will get their full vaccination protection, for which a second dose is needed.

"Without sufficient data on possible risks, there should be no second vaccination with other vaccines," said Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection.

The Standing Commission on Vaccination (Stiko) recommends that those affected now receive a second vaccination with an mRNA vaccine - Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna - after 12 weeks. However, a decision on this has not yet been made. The health ministers of the federal states first want to discuss the remaining questions.

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