In order to allow more flexibility in times of supply shortages, a trial has been launched in the United Kingdom to explore if mixing shots of the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca will provide equal or better protection than giving the same vaccine twice.

According to the vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, no changes would be made to the country’s current approach until at least the summer, reported BBC.

There is no indication that the present approach will change, except in rare situations when only one vaccine is available, or it’s not known which was given in the first dose - only if the trial shows favourable results.

The Com-Cov study would look at 800 volunteers aged 50 or older who have not yet received the vaccine.

The chief investigator, Prof Matthew Snape from the University of Oxford, said the "tremendously exciting study" would provide information vital for vaccine rollouts in the UK and globally. He also shared with BBC Radio that animal studies have previously shown "a better antibody response with a mixed schedule rather than the straight schedule" of vaccine shots.

Exploring new approaches could help in fighting emerging variants, even though the current vaccines are expected to work against them efficiently.

“All manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and others, are looking at how they can improve their vaccine to make sure that we are ready for any variant - there are about 4,000 variants around the world of COVID now,” Zahawi said, reported Reuters.

(With inputs from Reuters and BBC)