China is exploring the option of mixing different Covid-19 vaccines as a solution to the relatively low efficacy of its existing jabs, the head of the country’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
Gao Fu told a conference in Chengdu on Saturday that the country was examining two routes “to solve the problem that the efficacy of its existing vaccines is not high”.
One option is to adjust the dosage, the interval between doses or increase the number of doses. The second route is to mix vaccines that use different technologies.
At present China does not recommend mixing different vaccines.
Health experts generally agree that the mixing different Covid-19 vaccines should be safe, and clinical trials are being held in Britain and other countries to see if that would yield better protection.
Gao also said China was considering when to reopen its borders, and whether to keep measures such as mandatory mask wearing and testing in place after that.
It is also stepping up research on vaccines that can counter new variants of the disease.
