Screen grab from the Laging Handa briefing last June 29, 2021.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will begin studying mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccine brands amid the vaccination rollout, said a member of its vaccine expert panel.

In the Laging Handa government briefing on June 29 (Tuesday), vaccine expert Rontegene Solante said the DOST- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) has approved the protocol in testing emergency use authorization (EUA) vaccines for “mix-and-match.”

Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sputnik V, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines which had been granted with EUA will be used for the mix-and-match trial, he said.

“So nandoon na ang protocol, na-approve na ng PCHRD, it’s just a matter of time na mauumpisahan natin itong mix-and-match and hopefully in a few months matatapos na natin,” said Solante.

If the mixed-dose vaccines are proven to be effective, there will be more data to improve vaccine rollout and address the shortage of vaccines, said Solante. Hazel N. Camba