Germany's vaccine committee has recommended mixing a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine with an mRNA jab to combat the more aggressive Delta variant, which is expected to make up 70 to 80 percent of cases in the country in the coming days.

STIKO argued that studies, specifically from the UK, show that a mix of the jabs is "clearly superior" to just two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine alone. Because of this, the commission recommended mixing it with either the BioNTech-Pfizer or Moderna vaccines "regardless of age."

One study from Oxford University found that an AstraZeneca jab followed by the Pfizer vaccine four weeks later created a better immune response than just two doses of AstraZeneca alone.

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Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of the high-profile people to have already mixed the vaccines. She received the AstraZeneca jab first jab and then the Moderna one.

The Delta variant is a particular concern throughout Europe, and the World Health Organization has reported it is overtaking the variant first discovered in the UK, or Alpha variant, "very quickly."

It has also warned the rise of the variant in Europe could cause a "fourth wave" in the fall.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency in Germany has also reported that, while the Delta variant only accounted for 37 percent of infections in the country last week, it is expected to increase to half of the cases this week.

And the country's Health Minister, Jens Spahn, told reporters: "I expect that in the course of July we will see Delta accounting for over 70 to 80 percent of infections in our country.'

However, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that two doses of all four of its approved jabs, including AstraZeneca, are effective against the new variant.

"Right now, it seems that the four vaccines approved in the European Union are protecting against all the strains circulating in Europe, including the Delta variant," said Marco Cavaleri, the head of the EMA's vaccine strategy. 

"Emerging data from real-world evidence are showing that two doses of vaccines are protective against the Delta variant."

He added that current vaccines  should be regularly checked against new emerging variants.