Britain and the United States are just two of the countries currently experiencing a colossal coronavirus disaster.
Britain has more hospitalizations than at the peak of the pandemic in March-April, and in the US, more than 125,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Both countries have lost control of the spread of the disease.
Against the backdrop of this medical emergency – which may result in hospitals being unable to provide adequate care to patients suffering from heart disease, cancer and fatal diseases far more dangerous than COVID-19 – some voices in these countries have raised a very controversial: the extension of the suggested interval of three weeks between the two doses of the vaccine or the immediate skip of the second dose.
Israelis being vaccinated against COVID-19 in Jerusalem, left, and Tel Aviv
(Photos: EPA, AP)
This offer involves extensive risks. First – this proposal has not proven to be safe and effective in clinical trials, which could make it more difficult for the public to accept the injection.
Virologists and immunologists fear that administering just one dose of the COVID vaccine will provide only partial protection against the pathogen.
According to the results of official Pfizer tests, a dose of the vaccine provides only 52% protection against the coronavirus in a period of 10 days to three weeks.
Subsequent examinations have shown that these numbers may rise further, but they cannot prove it with complete certainty. Partial public immunity could also increase selective evolutionary pressures on the virus, which would lead to the emergence of new variants capable of circumventing the vaccine.
So why do the British and Americans still consider the idea of implementing such a policy? Because they are in trouble.
Administering the vaccine in Jerusalem
(Photo: Gil Yochanan)
One of the main figures of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said that he will not agree with the single-dose policy for the same reasons listed above, despite the sharp increase in cases in the United States.
This proposal poses a great risk to public confidence in the vaccine. People should know that the procedure is not affected by any political considerations or sophisticated manipulation of raw data.
The public should be as sure as possible about this vaccine, which has obtained emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
People need to have confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine before going to get it. It is unacceptable that anyone who received the first dose, waiting for a second, now hear that the Ministry of Health – and not Pfizer – is ready to change the policy, only contributing to the feeling of distrust.
Under no circumstances should Israel find itself in a state of despair like Europe and the United States, whether that means tightening the rules of social distance or continuing to inoculate high-risk groups at a breakneck pace.
The government and the Ministry of Health must show consistency and focus on these major challenges, and not play risky games out of feelings of emergency and despair abroad.