Interchangeability of vaccines with regard to the second dose
15.4.2021
Question for written answer E-002061/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Simona Baldassarre (ID), Matteo Adinolfi (ID)
It has come to our notice that EU countries are continuing to take different decisions regarding the inoculation of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
More specifically, France and Germany have suspended the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, opting for a different vaccine[1], while Spain has not yet announced any decision.
In the UK, some preliminary studies[2] have shown that the option of administering a different vaccine for the second jab might give broader, longer-lasting immunity against the virus and new variants of it, and offer more flexibility to vaccine rollout.
However, according to the WHO there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of ‘mix and match’ vaccines. Other immunologists and infectious disease experts have raised concerns about such solutions: they say that given the vaccines’ different modes of action[3], there is a high risk of not obtaining benefits such as to justify a similar choice[4].
Can the Commission therefore say whether:
it will ask the EMA to give unequivocal instructions regarding the administration of the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine;
it will propose that the EMA launch efficacy studies on the interchangeability of vaccines, also with a view to vaccine booster shots to be carried out over the next few years?
Supporter[5]
- [1] https://ednh.news/it/i-paesi-ue-scelgono-in-ordine-sparso-sul-vaccino-di-astrazeneca/?fbclid=IwAR2zgiKbqgs3k41VdRdhlvNDNF7qXdYRRLNlhDF-reipZUcL5vI-g-_ZZLs
- [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56730526
- [3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-021-00526-x#Sec3
- [4] https://www.adnkronos.com/bassetti-una-sola-dose-astrazeneca-meglio-di-mix-vaccini_2hdN1a095qsfwtYywWin1l
- [5] This question is supported by a Member other than the authors: Mara Bizzotto (ID)