Astrazeneca is testing a combination of the COVID-19 vaccine and the Russian shot

 

Sputnik V's developers suggested on Twitter last month that AstraZeneca try the mix.

Britain's AstraZeneca said on Friday that it would investigate combining its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with Russia's Sputnik V candidate vaccine, a move Russian scientists have suggested could significantly boost efficacy.

Sputnik V's developers suggested on Twitter last month that AstraZeneca try the mix.

"Sputnik V is pleased to share one of its human viral vectors with AstraZeneca to increase the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Using different vectors for two pieces of vaccine will lead to higher efficacy than using the same vector for two pieces," they said on November 23rd.

In its Friday statement, AstraZeneca said it is studying how to evaluate different vaccine combinations, and will soon begin to explore whether two common vaccines based on the cold virus can be successfully combined with the Russian Gamaleya Institute that developed Sputnik V.

Data published in this week's journal shows that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being developed alongside the University of Oxford, has a combined efficacy of 70.4%, entirely based on a pooled evaluation of interim facts from trials in the late stages.

Russia claimed Sputnik V is 92% effective in protecting people from COVID-19, according to interim trial results.

"This indicates the energy of Sputnik V's science and our wish and willingness to companion with different vaccines to combat COVID together," stated Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF, which cash Sputnik V.