Scientists from the United Kingdom and Russia are planning to initiate a trial that would combine the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Sputnik V vaccines in the coming weeks.
The trials are set to be held in Russia for those over 18, reported by BBC News, and would be used to survey whether or not immune response would increase if the two vaccines were used together.
AstraZeneca-Oxford’s vaccine, which has recently reported promising results from their Phase 3 trial, has reportedly been exploring combinations of different adenovirus vaccines, according to BBC News.
#UPDATE Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s Russian branch said Friday it would use part of Russia’s homemade Sputnik V vaccine in further clinical trialshttps://t.co/xvSkHKmwF9
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 11, 2020
“Combinations of different COVID-19 vaccines may be an important step in generating wider protection through a stronger immune response and better accessibility,” AstraZeneca said in a statement on its website.
The statement goes on to say that the Sputnik V and the AstraZeneca vaccines use the adenoviral vector vaccines that use the spike protein from the virus, which would not allow the virus to replicate. (RELATED: Pfizer Vaccine ‘Likely’ To Be Discouraged For Pregnant Women, FDA Adviser Says)
Trials for the vaccine are tentatively set for the end of the year, according to Reuters, and the RDIF wealth fund, which funded the Sputnik V vaccine, has expressed a hope to produce the joint vaccine should the vaccines prove effective.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was found to be around 70% effective following the release of data last month, which fueled early optimism for a potential end to the pandemic.
Russia announced in early November that the Sputnik V vaccine was 92% effective, but was only conducted on a small number of actual COVID patience and exercised caution with the results.