BERLIN / COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Germany was pondering on Monday whether it would allow a delay in administering a second dose of BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to move scarce supplies forward after similar action from Britain. Britain last week.
Separately, Denmark on Monday approved a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second application of the vaccine.
In Berlin, the health ministry was seeking the opinion of an independent vaccination commission on the delay of a second injection beyond the current maximum limit of 42 days, according to a one-page document seen by Reuters on Monday.
The move came amid criticism of Health Minister Jens Spahn – including his conservative political allies – that Germany failed to obtain enough vaccines and was too slow to increase its national vaccination campaign.
Spahn told his Christian Democratic Union at a closed-door meeting on Monday that he hoped to offer vaccines by summer to everyone in Germany, once more vaccines obtained regulatory approval, according to sources present.
Some German health experts welcomed Britain’s initiative to postpone the administration of a second dose of the BioNTech / Pfizer injection, which occurs when governments try to provide coronavirus protection to as many people as possible by giving them an injection and postponing a second.
“In view of the current shortage of vaccines and the very high number of infections and hospitalizations (in Germany), a strategy in which as many people as possible are vaccinated as early as possible is most effective,” said Leif-Erik Sander, head of the vaccine research team at Berlin’s Charité hospital.
However, BioNTech and Pfizer pointed out in a joint statement for the lack of trial data to support the postponement of the second dose.
“The safety and efficacy of the vaccine have not been evaluated in different dosing schedules, as most trial participants received the second dose within the window specified in the study design,” said the companies, referring to a main injection and a reinforcement given three weeks apart.
“There is no data to show that protection after the first dose is maintained after 21 days.”
The European Medicines Agency said that a maximum interval of 42 days between the first and the second injection of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine must be respected to obtain full protection.
According to the latest daily update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has vaccinated around 239,000 people since the start of its campaign on December 27 – well below the 1.3 million doses that were delivered by the end of 2020.
By way of comparison, Britain has administered more than a million COVID-19 vaccines so far, more than the rest of Europe combined, said Health Minister Matt Hancock.
MOVE DANISH
The Danish Health Authority will allow a wait of up to six weeks before administering a second dose, its chief Soren Brostrom told local news Ritzau on Monday, after examining the vaccine data.
But Brostrom said the original guidelines of waiting just three to four weeks should be followed whenever possible.
“If you stay more than six weeks, we cannot see the scientific evidence that you are protected for sure. Therefore, we cannot recommend this, ”added Brostrom.
On Monday, a total of 46,975 Danes had received the first injection from Pfizer-BioNTech, mostly health workers and the elderly.
Although a longer interval between injections has not been tested in clinical trials, some scientists said it was a sensible plan, given the extraordinary circumstances.
The European Union’s approval for a Moderna vaccine, expected this week, is expected to add an additional 1.5 million doses to supply in the coming weeks, the German Ministry of Health document said.
In total, Germany, which has about 83 million inhabitants, is expected to receive 50 million doses of Moderna filmed this year under procurement contracts across the EU.
Regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine approved last week by Britain, the German Ministry of Health said that the European Medicines Agency’s ongoing review was taking place under “high pressure”.
“The objective is, as soon as possible, to decide on the way forward and on the scope of approval” of the AstraZeneca vaccine, says the document.
Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; written by Douglas Busvine and Josephine Mason; edition of Thomas Seythal, Maria Sheahan and Gareth Jones