Wrong to mix vaccines, may start blame game: Serum Institute's Cyrus Poonawalla

New Delhi: Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Serum Institute of India, says mixing of COVID-19 vaccines both Covishield and Covaxin is "wrong".

"I think it is very wrong in mixing of the vaccines and you can quote me," Poonawalla said, reported The Economic Times.

Such a mixing is not at all proven in field trials, he added while speaking at at the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth in Pune.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on August 11 accepted a proposal that a research be conducted to analyse mixing a dose each of the two vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Covaxin and Covishield.

"Permission has been granted for research study at CMC Vellore on mixing of vaccine doses," news agency ANI quoted Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog, as saying.

There is no need to mix the doses, Poonawalla said, adding that if some thing goes wrong then there could be a blame game between the two vaccine makers.

"Serum will say that the other vaccine as not good and they (other vaccine company) will blame us claiming there was an issue with our vaccine."