Daily US Times: Russian and UK scientists are teaming up to trial a combination of the Sputnik V and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to see if protection against Covid-19 can be improved.
Mixing two similar vaccines could lead to a higher immune response in people.
The trials, to be held in Russia, will involve over-18s, although it is not clear how many people will be involved in the trial.
Oxford recently published results showing their vaccine was safe and effective in trials on people.
The scientists are still collecting data on the effectiveness of the shot in older age groups while waiting for approval from the UK regulator, the MHRA.
AstraZeneca said it was exploring combinations of different adenovirus vaccines to find out whether mixing the vaccines togater leads to a better immune response and, therefore, greater protection.
The Russian Sputnik vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow and the British-made Oxford vaccine, developed in partnership with AstraZeneca, are similar because they both contain genetic material from the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein.
They work differently to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved in Canada, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Bahrain and recommended for approval by medical experts in the US.
Early results from late-stage trials of the Russian made Sputnik V vaccine have shown promising results.
Russia was the first country in the world to register a Covid vaccine for emergency use – in August, despite only having been tested on a few dozen people.
The vaccine is now being offered to Russians as part of a mass vaccination campaign.
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