A concern was recently raised on social media platforms about people who might have received different types of Covid-19 vaccines. One of such people is Radio/TV1 sports journalist Jadheau Dukuze, who tweeted earlier this week asking Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) if he needed to take another dose of vaccine as he had erroneously been inoculated with a vaccine different from what he received for his first jab. Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, Director-General, RBC, responded that the agency would reach out to him. Julien Mahoro Niyingabira, Division Manager, Rwanda Health Communications Centre, later told The New Times that there was nothing to worry about for such people as there was no known health risk associated with receiving different vaccines. But he said that cases of people who received different vaccines are so rare. “Once we get to know that someone received two types of Covid vaccines, we immediately start a personal follow-up process,” he said, explaining that they conduct certain tests to determine the level of their immunity. “We do not advise them to take another dose,” he said, adding that they continue to follow up on such individual cases and none of them had suffered rare side effects. Mixing up jabs is extremely rare as details of those who have been vaccinated are recorded in a synchronised system that can be accessed by vaccination teams anywhere in the country. According to the World Health Organization, clinical trials are ongoing in some countries to establish whether a person can have a first dose from one vaccine and a second one from another. Some health experts generally agree the mixing and matching of the vaccines should be safe. Some studies are underway to check for any side effects or unwanted reactions. Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of the Covid-19 clinical information network, told BBC the “starting point was to see if a combination of vaccines was as good in terms of their immune responses, but that there were also some hints that a combination might give a better immune response overall. Rwanda is currently administering the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to those who have already received their first jab.
