Small trials have suggested that heterologous vaccination with first-dose ChAdOx1 and second-dose BNT162b2 may generate a better immune response than homologous vaccination with two doses of ChAdOx1. We used linked data from Catalonia (Spain), where those aged <60 who received a first dose of ChAdOx1 could choose between ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 for their second dose. Comparable cohorts were obtained after exact-matching 14,325/17,849 (80.3%) people receiving heterologous vaccination to 14,325/149,386 (9.6%) receiving homologous vaccination by age, sex, region, and date of second dose. Of these, 238 (1.7%) in the heterologous and 389 (2.7%) in the homologous groups developed COVID-19 between 1st June 2021 and 11th October 2021. The resulting hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was 0.61 [ 0.52-0.71 ], favouring heterologous vaccination, with a Number Needed to Treat of 94.9 [ 71.8 - 139.8 ]. The two groups had similar testing rates and safety outcomes. Sensitivity and negative control outcome analyses confirmed these findings. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a heterologous vaccination schedule with ChAdOx1 followed by BNT162b2 was more efficacious than and similarly safe to homologous vaccination with two doses of ChAdOx1. Most of the infections in our study occurred when Delta was the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in Spain. These data agree with previous phase 2 randomised trials.
Comparative effectiveness and safety of homologous two-dose ChAdOx1 versus heterologous vaccination with ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2: a cohort analysis (preprint)