The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is looking for 3,000 individuals who would be willing to participate in its study on the feasibility of mixing and matching of Covid-19 vaccines brands.
DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said participants should be 18-years and above.
They will be divided into 12 groups. Each group will have 250 participants.
She said the study will make use of the vaccines that are currently part of the government’s vaccination drive: Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology (Sputnik V).
Also to be used in the study is the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna.
Guevarra said one of the groups will be given two doses of Sinovac vaccines, while another group will also be given two doses of Astrazeneca.
“These will serve as our baseline [groups],” Guevarra said.
She noted five groups will be given the following combinations: Sinovac and AstraZeneca; Sinovac and Sputnik V; Sinovac and Sputnik V; Sinovac and Pfizer; and Sinovac and Moderna.
The DOST official said five remaining groups will also be given two doses of Sinovac vaccines and a third dose from a different brand of Covid-19 vaccine to serve as “booster.”
The brands to be used as boosters are AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Pfizer, and Moderna.
After the study, Guevarra said they hope to determine if the mixing and matching of Covid-19 vaccine brands will be beneficial to its recipients, particularly for Filipinos.
“Through this mix and match, we will see the immune response of the participants will increase,” Guevarra said.
DOST is expected to start by July since they are still getting the necessary clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ethics Review Board.