Germany recommends switching vaccine after first dose of AstraZeneca for better protection

In a massive setback for AstraZeneca/Oxford developed vaccines, Germany is now asking its residents to switch to Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech shots for better protection against COVID-19. On Friday, the German vaccine committee put out a recommendation for people who’ve got their first AstraZeneca shot asserting that the other two vaccines would better enhance immunity, including against the more transmissible Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2. Earlier in March, BMG- the country’s federal health ministry, had already restricted the use of the AstraZeneca jabs to those under 60.

'Mix is better than two shots'

Health Minister Jens Spahn conferred with his colleagues from Germany's 16 states on Friday, the day after the country's standing committee on vaccination issued a draft recommendation. In a statement, the committee said that “according to current study results,” the immune response from a mixture of AstraZeneca with an mRNA vaccine was “significantly superior” to that from two doses of AstraZeneca. The committee, therefore, recommended a mix of two vaccines “regardless of age” and “with a minimum gap of four weeks” between both doses.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel herself picked Moderna for her second dose earlier this month. In April, she got the AstraZeneca vaccine for her first dose. The committee also pointed out previous studies conducted in the UK and asserted that RNA based vaccines could "significantly reduce" delta Variant after only one shot. "In this context, STIKO (Standing Committee on Vaccination)  points out that it is important to get the second vaccine dose," it said. Germany expects the Delta variant to take over as the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the country in the coming days.

Third dose

This comes as discreet research showed that delayed second and third doses of AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against COVID-19. An interval of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine led to an enhanced immune response, rather than compromising immunity, a study by Oxford University noted. At present, World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends an 8-12 week interval between two doses of the vaccine. As per the study, a third booster shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine given half a year following the second dose also led to a ‘substantial increase” in antibodies. This directly implies that it also induces a “strong boost” to the vaccinated person’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2