A researchers team from ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) Regional Medical Centre and Institute of Virology has conducted a study recently which has shown that mixing of different vaccine shots is effective against Covid-19, as the participants did not showing any adverse side effects. However, "the study was conducted only on 18 volunteers, it showed that the participants, when injected with two different vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) weeks apart, developed more antibodies than people with double shots of the same vaccine", reported Times of India.
India has administered more than 98 crore shots as of October 18. With the vaccination numbers so high in the country, only 28.69 crore people are fully vaccinated, which is just around 20% of the total population of the country.
In the ICMR's recent study 18 participants from diverse profiles were first administered with Covishield and then with Covaxin as the second dose. The researchers concluded that mixing of vaccine doses is not only safe, but also gives significantly higher artificial immunity levels as compared to the two shots of the same vaccine.
This study by ICMR is yet to be reviewed. However, it has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Travel Medicine. Further, the study has evaluated only the effects of mixing Covishield and Covaxin. As per researches conducted earlier, both Covishield and Covaxin have shown more than 70% efficacy individually.