Thai govt defends mix & match vaccine policy

[GroveHillWanderer]

19 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Antibiotics have been fully approved for over 60 years or so.  The Flu Vaccine(s) has also been studied and approved for many years.  Covid 19 Vaccines have been in exitance for less than  a year and the US Government has only given EUA(Emergency Use Authorization).  AKA:  These vaccines are experimental and I would risk only taking one specific type  at this time.  

Although as I mentioned earlier, antibiotics are a completely different class of medicine and so are not directly comparable to vaccines, I should perhaps point out that it is also possible (or even sometimes recommended) to mix them. For instance, in order to treat the common stomach bacteria helicobacter pylori, the standard treatment involves a combination therapy of two or three different antibiotics - plus a proton pump inhibitor and an antacid. 

 

The idea of mixing vaccines is based on sound scientific principles and has been used with vaccines for a number of different diseases in the past. 

 

The human immune system is an incredibly complex biological mechanism and consists of multiple different parts. No one vaccine can hope to stimulate all parts of it equally.

 

For instance, as mentioned in the article linked to below, in reference to the AZ vaccine with its adenovirus vector technology:

 

Quote

Vaccines using this technology have a good track record of inducing strong T-cell responses, says Sander, whereas vaccines using messenger RNA, such as Pfizer’s, have proved “exceptionally good” at inducing high levels of antibodies.

Mix-and-match COVID vaccines

 

As the article goes on to point out, by mixing and matching these two types of vaccine, you are getting the best of both worlds.

 

So, while it's true that the specific combination of vaccines other than AZ and Pfizer does not have enough clinical trial data yet, it doesn't make sense to just dismiss the whole idea out of hand, since it makes a lot of logical, scientific sense and has a proven track record.

 

Also, the CoViD-19 vaccines currently being used are not experimental. Experimental would mean they are still undergoing testing (test and experiment being synonyms). All the CoVid-19 vaccines in use have completed the full range of required clinical test phases. The only ones that can be described as experimental are the ones such as Novavax and CureVac, that are still in the trial phase and have not been authorized for use yet.

[oldcpu]

17 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Defend it all you want, if the international community refuses to accept it, you're still screwed.

Some countries, even some EU, accept Sinovac.

 

It's also correct to say many don't.

 

Vaccine acceptance is becoming very political.

[HappyExpat57]

9 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Some countries, even some EU, accept Sinovac.

 

It's also correct to say many don't.

 

Vaccine acceptance is becoming very political.

Just about anything anymore is political. The world has become divided, and I believe that's intentional.

Bottom line, mixed vaccines aren't accepted in many countries, so if you are planning on any international travel in the future, do your homework and get the right vaccine.

[beano2274]

16 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Some countries, even some EU, accept Sinovac.

 

It's also correct to say many don't.

 

Vaccine acceptance is becoming very political.

Also for those who want to travel to Europe you book a flight to a country where SINOVAC is accepted, stay for a while then go to another country, no checks at borders.

[MrJ2U]

23 hours ago, ramrod711 said:

When the ship is sinking, grab whatever floats.

Unless its an Anchor.