Two researchers in a letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday argued that the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine could be postponed, despite previous opposition to such a move by health officials.
At the the letter, Canadian researchers Danuta Skowronski and Gaston De Serres argued that, based on the analysis of documents submitted by Pfizer to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the vaccine has an efficacy rate of approximately 92.6% after the first dose.
The Pfizer vaccine, which is currently authorized to be delivered in two doses 21 days apart, reported 94.8 percent efficacy against COVID-19 after two doses.
Given the relatively small increase in the rate of effectiveness between the first and second doses, the authors argued in the letter that “the benefits derived from a scarce supply of vaccine could be maximized by postponing second doses until all members of the priority group are offered at least one dose. ”
The authors acknowledged that while “there may be uncertainty about the duration of protection with a single dose”, the second dose weeks after the first “provides little additional benefit in the short term, while high-risk people who could have received the first dose with that vaccine supply they are left completely unprotected. ”
The researchers further argued that “postponing the second dose is a matter of national security that, if ignored, will certainly result in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths related to Covid-19 this winter in the United States – hospitalizations and deaths that would have been prevented with the first dose of the vaccine. ”
The medical journal also published Pfizer’s response to the letter, in which the pharmaceutical manufacturer noted that “alternative dosing regimens” for its vaccine have not yet been properly evaluated.
“The decision to implement alternative dosing regimes depends on the health authorities,” continued Pfizer. “However, we at Pfizer believe that it is critical for health authorities to conduct surveillance on alternative dosing schemes implemented to ensure that vaccines provide the maximum possible protection.
The letters arrive while experts remain divided over whether to delay second doses of coronavirus vaccines to allow more people in high-priority groups to receive protection against COVID-19 more quickly.
Anthony Fauci
Anthony FauciMany NBA players apprehensive about promoting vaccines COVID-19: White House report says teacher vaccination is not required for schools to reopen., the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday that he disagreed with experts asking for a second deferred dose, adding that more research would be needed to measure the level of long-term protection that individuals could receive with just one dose.
“The amount of time it will take, the amount of people you would have to put in the study – by then, we will already be in the arena of having enough, having enough vaccines to circulate anyway,” said Fauci.
“But what we have now, and what we must follow, are the scientific data that we have accumulated and are really very solid,” he added. “We know that each one takes 21 or 28 days. You can do both. You can get as many people on your first dose as you can, within reason, adhere to the second dose schedule. “