article · African Health Sciences
Managing COVID-19 vaccination programmes in areas with fluctuating supply requires flexible dosing strategies, such as heterologous vaccination, where different vaccine types are combined. This study examined patient records over seven months at Bamenda Regional Hospital in Cameroon to evaluate how mixed vaccination schedules affect clinical outcomes. Among 1,254 participants, full vaccination rates were low, with only 24 individuals fully vaccinated, nearly a third of whom received heterologous doses. More than half of the total patients developed moderate or severe disease. Full vaccination significantly reduced the likelihood of severe illness, and no fully vaccinated patients died. Furthermore, mixing vaccines offered a protective effect against severe disease that was comparable to receiving identical doses, showing no significant difference in morbidity outcomes between the two approaches.
Unpredictable vaccine supplies often make it difficult for individuals to receive the same vaccine for their follow-up doses. Demonstrating that mixing vaccine types provides comparable protection against severe disease helps reassure both healthcare providers and the public, supporting greater flexibility in immunization rollouts and encouraging uptake even when specific vaccine brands are scarce.
The findings offer clinical evidence directly applicable to public health authorities and healthcare providers managing vaccine logistics and deployment in resource-constrained environments. As an applied retrospective clinical evaluation, the evidence can immediately inform vaccination delivery protocols, though the abstract does not indicate a specific commercial product or direct pathway for technology commercialisation.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Background: With most COVID-19 vaccines requiring at least 2 doses, heterologous vaccination will facilitate vaccination programs where vaccine supplies fluctuate. However, with insufficient data on effects of heterologous vaccination in our setting, people remain reluctant to mix. Objectives: We seek to assess the effects of heterologous vaccination on morbidity and mortality. Methods: This was a 7 months retrospective study for COVID-19 patients managed by the Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon, running from the 18th August 2021 to 28th February 2022. Logistic regression used to asses relationship between predictors and outcome. Results: Our 1254 participants had a mean age of 50.1(±19.6) years, we had 24 (1.9%) being fully vaccinated, where 7 (29.2%) took heterologous vaccines. Also, 721 (57.5%) had the moderate/severe form of the disease. Those fully vaccinated had lower odds of having severe disease (p=0.037). However, heterologous vaccination compared to homologous vaccination had no significant difference on morbidity (p=0.729). Among patients who died, none was fully vaccinated. Conclusion: The protective effect of vaccination on morbidity was similar in those with heterologous vaccination as well as those who took Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; heterologous vaccination; homologous vaccination.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v24i4.11
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
