Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/11/news-scan-nov-12-2021
News Scan for Nov 12, 2021
COVID, flu vaccines given at same time; Polio in Africa
Filed Under:
COVID-19; Influenza Vaccines; Polio
COVID-19, flu vaccines safe to give at the same time, study shows
A UK study yesterday in The Lancet finds that flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be safely co-administered.
Led by researchers from the Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, the multicenter phase 4 clinical trial involved 679 adults at 12 UK sites. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three inactivated age-appropriate seasonal flu vaccines and either the second dose of a Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) or AstraZeneca/Oxford (ChAdOx1) COVID-19 vaccine or a placebo from Apr 1 to Jun 26, 2021.
The goal was to determine whether co-administration of the vaccines, which would free up healthcare provider time to vaccinate more people, is safe and will provoke an immune response at least as robust as is produced when the two vaccines are given 3 weeks apart.
Of the 679 participants, 340 were assigned to receive simultaneous administration of flu vaccine and a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine followed by a placebo 3 weeks later, and 339 were given a placebo and a second COVID-19 vaccine dose followed by a flu vaccine 3 weeks later. The researchers followed participants for up to 6 weeks.
Four combinations of co-administered vaccines produced a similar antibody response as those given 3 weeks apart: AstraZeneca plus quadrivalent (four-strain) flu vaccine (risk difference for flu vaccine minus placebo, -1.29%), Pfizer plus cellular quadrivalent flu vaccine (6.27%), Pfizer plus MF59C-adjuvanted flu vaccine (-12.9%), and AstraZeneca plus recombinant quadrivalent flu vaccine (2.53%). Likewise, the combination of AstraZeneca plus MF59C and Pfizer plus recombinant quadrivalent flu vaccine surpassed the 0.25 noninferiority margin (10.3% and 6.75%, respectively).
Most systemic adverse reactions were mild to moderate, and rates of local and unsolicited systemic reactions were similar among all-groups. One serious adverse event—hospitalization with severe headache)—was considered related to the intervention. Immune responses weren't dampened.
"Concomitant vaccination with ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2 plus an age-appropriate influenza vaccine raises no safety concerns and preserves antibody responses to both vaccines," the study authors concluded.
Nov 11 Lancet study
Ivory Coast, Niger report new polio cases
Ivory Coast and Niger reported new polio cases this week, according to the weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Both involve circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.
The Ivory Coast case was reported in Marahoue, bringing the country's total cases recorded 2020 to 63.
Niger had 10 cases in 2020, and with 3 new cases recorded in the previous week, the 2021 total stands at 5. The 3 cases were in Agadez, Diffa, and Zinder regions.
Nov 12 GPEI update
News Scan for Nov 12, 2021
COVID, flu vaccines given at same time; Polio in Africa
Filed Under:
COVID-19; Influenza Vaccines; Polio
COVID-19, flu vaccines safe to give at the same time, study shows
A UK study yesterday in The Lancet finds that flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be safely co-administered.
Led by researchers from the Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, the multicenter phase 4 clinical trial involved 679 adults at 12 UK sites. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three inactivated age-appropriate seasonal flu vaccines and either the second dose of a Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) or AstraZeneca/Oxford (ChAdOx1) COVID-19 vaccine or a placebo from Apr 1 to Jun 26, 2021.
The goal was to determine whether co-administration of the vaccines, which would free up healthcare provider time to vaccinate more people, is safe and will provoke an immune response at least as robust as is produced when the two vaccines are given 3 weeks apart.
Of the 679 participants, 340 were assigned to receive simultaneous administration of flu vaccine and a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine followed by a placebo 3 weeks later, and 339 were given a placebo and a second COVID-19 vaccine dose followed by a flu vaccine 3 weeks later. The researchers followed participants for up to 6 weeks.
Four combinations of co-administered vaccines produced a similar antibody response as those given 3 weeks apart: AstraZeneca plus quadrivalent (four-strain) flu vaccine (risk difference for flu vaccine minus placebo, -1.29%), Pfizer plus cellular quadrivalent flu vaccine (6.27%), Pfizer plus MF59C-adjuvanted flu vaccine (-12.9%), and AstraZeneca plus recombinant quadrivalent flu vaccine (2.53%). Likewise, the combination of AstraZeneca plus MF59C and Pfizer plus recombinant quadrivalent flu vaccine surpassed the 0.25 noninferiority margin (10.3% and 6.75%, respectively).
Most systemic adverse reactions were mild to moderate, and rates of local and unsolicited systemic reactions were similar among all-groups. One serious adverse event—hospitalization with severe headache)—was considered related to the intervention. Immune responses weren't dampened.
"Concomitant vaccination with ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2 plus an age-appropriate influenza vaccine raises no safety concerns and preserves antibody responses to both vaccines," the study authors concluded.
Nov 11 Lancet study
Ivory Coast, Niger report new polio cases
Ivory Coast and Niger reported new polio cases this week, according to the weekly update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Both involve circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.
The Ivory Coast case was reported in Marahoue, bringing the country's total cases recorded 2020 to 63.
Niger had 10 cases in 2020, and with 3 new cases recorded in the previous week, the 2021 total stands at 5. The 3 cases were in Agadez, Diffa, and Zinder regions.
Nov 12 GPEI update