A pharmacist dilutes the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as he prepares to administer it to staff and residents of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, a community of seniors in Falls Church, Virginia, on December 30, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Health experts have given conditional support to the UK’s decision to delay the administration of a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, warning that “the need to suppress the new coronavirus strain “.
It comes shortly after the UK said the second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech test, in addition to the recently approved Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, would now be given up to 12 weeks after the first. dose.
The National Health Service had previously planned to administer a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine three weeks after the first, to rely on maintaining a high level of protection against the virus.
The UK’s Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said in a statement on Sunday that it was a “very difficult and finely balanced decision”, but supported the UK government’s decision to pursue coverage of a proportion as high as possible of the population.
However, he said the policy change must be accompanied by several more measures. These included: the publication of a detailed and compelling strategy to expand the implementation of vaccination, the development of a rigorous assessment process, a real-time assessment of ongoing viral variation, and the need to restrict movements. to and from Britain to other countries. the world.
SAGE is made up of health experts and academics and is co-chaired by the UK government’s chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer.
Meghana Pandit, chief physician at the Oxford University NHS Trust, right, speaks with 88-year-old Trevor Cowlett before he receives the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine from Oxford University at Churchill Hospital of Oxford, UK, Monday, January 4, 2021. UK regulators deleted the shot last week, marking its first worldwide approval.
Steve Parsons | PA Wire | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Comments come despite the British Medical Association criticizing the UK’s decision to delay the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He described the measure as “severely unfair” to thousands of at-risk patients in England.
“The BMA believes that the existing commitment made to these patients by the NHS and local doctors should be respected. If GPs decide to meet these reserved appointments in January, the BMA will support them,” Drs. Richard Vautre, chairman of the BMA medical committee. said in a statement on Dec. 31.
In response to these concerns, the SAGE committee said, “Under normal circumstances, we would advocate the continuation of previous plans to administer two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 21 days apart. However, these are not normal circumstances and there are other important public health considerations “.
Germany’s health ministry on Monday sought advice from an independent vaccination commission on whether to follow in the UK’s footsteps.
A ministry spokesman confirmed to CNBC that the German government had asked the Robert Koch Institute Standing Vaccination Committee whether the country should delay a second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. “This decision needs scientific consideration,” they added.
“Hard” measures required
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, said on Monday that the government could soon announce stricter public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Johnson said there could be “tough” measures in the coming weeks. Currently, more than three-quarters of the British population is at level 4, the highest level of restrictions.
The opposition Labor Party has said the government must impose a national shutdown within 24 hours, warning that the virus is “clearly out of control”.
The UK on Sunday recorded more than 50,000 new infections confirmed by Covid-19 for the sixth day in a row. The country continues to fight a new strain of the virus that is spreading faster.
To date, the UK has reported more than 2.6 million cases of coronavirus, with 75,137 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
“It is now clear that the new variant of the virus, which appears to have emerged in the south-east of England, is substantially more transmissible than the previous variants, by 40-80%,” SAGE said in a statement on 3 January. .
“It is also clear that current Level 4 restrictions cannot contain their spread, even with the closure of schools and universities.”
“The pandemic is now out of control and the NHS is fighting, as some hospitals have to stop non-COVID activities. The NHS is no longer protected. For these reasons, there is a strong argument for maximizing population coverage with at least one dose of vaccine, although this requires a change in the dosing schedule, “the group added.