With the booster programme well underway, why has AstraZeneca received less attention than Pfizer and Moderna?

Covid booster doses have been given to almost 37 million people in the UK. Pfizer or Moderna have been involved in the majority of these doses.

Many people may be perplexed as to why only two are recommended.

Is the Covid booster from AstraZeneca safe?

The results of the CovBoost study, which looked at the effects of third doses on the body’s T cell immune response after a booster shot, support the UK’s decision to offer either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines as a third dose, with the mRNA jabs providing the most significant increase in immunity levels when compared to other vaccines.

Professor Saul Faust, trial lead and director of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust’s NIHR Clinical Research Facility, said:

“All of the vaccines in our study do show a statistically significant boost.

“RNA (Pfizer and Moderna) very high, but very effective boosts from Novavax, Janssen and AstraZeneca as well.”

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency(MHRA) has approved the use of Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca booster vaccines as boosters.

When possible, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) recommends exclusively using the two mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna).

These have been shown to have fewer side effects and stronger immunological responses.

The AstraZeneca booster jab is safe, but:

The MHRA cautioned against administering the AstraZeneca vaccination to those under the age of 40 earlier this year because of its association with blood clots.

People in this age group are instead being provided with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines since the risk balance is “more finely balanced” among younger age groups, who are less likely to get sick from Covid-19.

Scientists believe they’ve discovered the “trigger” for the jab’s unusual blood clot issues.

The reaction, according to an international team of researchers based in Cardiff and the United States, may be traced back to the way a vaccine component attaches to a specific protein in the blood.

Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), as the disorder is known, is thought to be caused by a chain reaction in the immune system that can lead to the formation of blood clots.

“VITT only happens in extremely rare cases because a chain of complex events needs to take place to trigger this ultra-rare side effect,” said Professor Alan Parker of Cardiff University’s School of Medicine.

“Our data confirms PF4 can bind to adenoviruses, an important step in unravelling the mechanism underlying VITT. Establishing a mechanism could help to prevent and treat this disorder.

“We hope our findings can be used to better understand the rare side effects of these new vaccines – and potentially to design new and improved vaccines to turn the tide on this global pandemic.”

AstraZeneca’s vaccine can cause other side effects, too, like:

• Chills
• Shivering
• Increased body temperature
• Sweating
• Headache
• Nausea
• Myalgia
• Malaise.

Image Credit: Getty

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