More Covid vaccine news: Can you mix and match? When will your local pharmacy have the Covid vaccines? Can you do your own Covid test at home?
The Federal Government says it will begin shipping COVID-19 vaccine to pharmacies starting February 11. Most Americans are said to live within 5 miles of a pharmacy. The goal is to eventually ship vaccine directly to some 40,000 pharmacy sites across the United States.
Have you ever wondered if you could mix and match the vaccines? Some people think this may create stronger immunity. Well there is an interesting study being done in England to see if you can mix and match the vaccines and see how far apart the two vaccines should be given. The study has different groups who will receive the Pfizer/Biotech (PF) vaccine and AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines. Here is what the different groups will get.
Group 1: 2 doses of the AZ 28 days apart
Group 2: 2 doses of AZ 12 weeks apart
Group 3: 2 doses of PF 28 days apart
Group 4: 2 doses of PF 12 weeks apart
Group 5: 1 dose of AZ then PF 28 days later
Group 6: 1 dose of AZ followed by PF 12 weeks later
Group 7: 1 dose of PF then AZ 28 days later
Group 8: 1 dose of PF then AZ 12 weeks apart
The study will run for a year but early results will be shared and may shake up the whole vaccine program if there are any major findings before that.
The Biden administration has signed a $230 million deal with Ellume, an Australian-based diagnostics company, to buy 8.5 million at-home coronavirus testing kits.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Ellume test last month. Other at-home tests are available, but the Ellume test doesn't require a doctor's prescription and can deliver results by smart phone in 15 minutes.
Ellume currently manufactures its kits in Australia. The deal will allow Ellume to open a factory in the United States and make 19 million rapid tests each month by the end of the year. 8.5 million kits are promised to the government.
The Ellume kit uses a sterile nasal swab, a processing fluid, and a testing strip that can be used at home. The testing materials connect to a smartphone that can provide results via Bluetooth in 15 minutes or less, the company says. The kits will cost about $30 and be sold in drug stores and online, Ellume says.
No comments:
Post a Comment