A Sydney man, who today received his fourth dose of a coronavirus vaccine, has said he doubled up on AstraZeneca and Pfizer to give him greater immunity against the worrying disease.
Tom Lee, a 34-year-old from Sydney, told news.com.au he was feeling “fine” after his second Pfizer dose this afternoon.
“I’ve seen people feeling sick after the second Pfizer. I'm hoping it doesn't happen to me,” he said.
“All the Americans are vaccinated on this type of vaccine and they seem OK.”
Mr Lee has taken to Twitter to document his vaccination journey, using the social media platform for a “bit of fun” during lockdown.
Mr Lee disputes any accusation he is jumping the queue, insisting he did everything by the book and NSW Health was more than happy to vaccinate him.
“As for queue jumping, I don't see it like that. I haven't stolen any vaccines. I literally lined up in the queue to get it. Getting vaccinated takes a bit of leg work and anyone can do it,” he said.
“NSW Health are not going to turn away the vaccine keen ... The impression I get is NSW Health is not interested in being vaccine police for the federal government.”
And for young Australians hoping to get the jab now, instead of later this year when a spot opens up, Mr Lee has a number of tips.
“Pay attention to where the vaccines are available, be it GP or the vaccination centre at Olympic Park, and just go there and ask to be vaccinated. It worked for me,” he said.
“I suppose we trust our governments to tell us what to do. But I've found it is worth comparing what you read in the news and what you can see for yourself when you physically go to where the vaccines are.”
Mr Lee posted his double vaccination status to Twitter this afternoon after getting his final Pfizer dose at NSW Health’s Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination hub.
Mr Lee’s “antibody maxxing”, as he calls it, comes as studies continue to show vaccine mixing could be beneficial for immunity against coronavirus.
A medical study, conducted by the University of Oxford in the UK, found an AstraZeneca shot followed by a Pfizer jab was almost as potent as two Pfizer vaccines.
The UK study, involving 830 volunteers over the age of 50, found a mix of AstraZeneca and Pfizer gave “robust” protection against coronavirus and produced more antibodies when compared to a double AstraZeneca dose.
“Given the evidence that AstraZeneca with a Pfizer vaccine actually had nine times more production of antibodies … this is actually a very encouraging sign for many countries that either have a slow rollout or limited supply to access the vaccines. Particularly in light of the variants that are circulating,” Oksana Pyzik, an infectious diseases expert at University College London, said.
Germany’s vaccine committee recommended mixing vaccines earlier this month, saying studies showed the immune response was “clearly superior” when AstraZeneca was combined with an mRNA vaccine - the technology used in the Pfizer and Moderna shots.
Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) officially recommended the mix to give Germans better protection against coronavirus.
Nations including South Korea, Canada and Spain have already approved vaccine mixing.
Mr Lee said the better immunity was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“My thinking was to maximise antibodies by mixing if I could,” he said.
“That (better immunity) stood out to me as something good to have.”
Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, an infectious diseases expert from Monash University in Melbourne, said studies had shown mixing and matching doses “blow the roof off antibody levels”.
However, Dr Ananda-Rajah implored Australians to take what they could get due to the lack of mRNA supplies at the moment.
As for celebrating his double immunity, Mr Lee said he was sadly stuck inside like the rest of Sydney.
But he was considering “just one beer to ‘promote antibody uptake,’” he joked.
Mr Lee said he was considering visiting his GP next week to get an antibody titer test, a lab analysis that measures the amount of antibodies in someone’s blood.
While Mr Lee could potentially be the first Aussie to get a quadruple jab, Australia’s expert vaccine panel still recommends sticking to both doses of the same vaccine.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is meeting tonight to reconsider its advice limiting AstraZeneca vaccines to people aged over 60.
The panel issued the age recommendation last month however due to the deteriorating coronavirus situation in Sydney, health authorities are desperate to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly also earlier called for people to not “mix and match”.
“Please, we are not mixing and matching at this point. You need to match, don‘t mix,” he said last month.
https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2021-07-12 10:32:00Z
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