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LONDON (Reuters) – A group of British doctors have written to England’s chief medical officer telling him to reduce the gap between the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine doses to six weeks from 12 to 12.
Britain is prioritizing the administration of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, allowing up to 12 weeks before a second dose, to give the maximum number of people initial protection.
But Pfizer and BioNTech have warned they have no evidence that their vaccine will continue to be protective if the second dose is given more than 21 days after the first.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said in an emailed statement on Saturday that it had written to England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty.
The BMA said it supports giving a second dose for up to 42 days after the first dose, but a longer gap is not in line with World Health Organization guidelines.
He therefore urged the CMO to “urgently review the UK’s current position on second doses after 12 weeks”.
“The UK’s strategy is increasingly isolated from many other countries,” the BMA said.
“BMA members are also concerned that, given the unpredictability of supplies, there is no guarantee that second doses of Pfizer vaccine will be available in 12 weeks.”
Whitty told a press conference on Friday that the longer gap between doses was a “public health decision” to vaccinate many more people and based on the belief that the vast majority of protection comes from the former. stroke.
Britain uses two vaccines, one from Pfizer and the other from AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca backed the gap between its jabs, saying the data showed an 8-12 week gap was a “sweet spot” for effectiveness.
The Department of Health and Social Affairs said in an emailed statement that its priority was to protect as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“The decision … to change the vaccine dosing intervals followed a thorough review of the data and was in line with recommendations from the UK’s four chief medical officers,” a spokesperson for DHSC said.
Some 5.38 million people have received a first dose of the vaccine in the UK, according to government data.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Jason Neely)
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