A pharmacist dilutes the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine while preparing it to be administered to employees and residents of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, an elderly community in Falls Church, Virginia, on December 30, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Health experts conditionally supported the UK’s decision to postpone 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 “cannot be overstated”.
It arrives shortly after the UK said that the second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, in addition to the newly approved Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, would now be administered 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 make sure it maintains a high level of protection against the virus.
The UK Independent Scientific Advisory Group (SAGE) said in a statement published on Sunday that it was a “very difficult and well-balanced decision”, but endorsed the UK government’s action to seek the largest possible coverage of the population.
However, he said that the policy change must be accompanied by several other measures. These included: the publication of a detailed and convincing strategy to increase the implementation of vaccination, the development of a rigorous evaluation process, a real-time assessment of continuous viral variation and the need to restrict movement to and from Britain. for the rest of the world.
SAGE is comprised of health experts and academics and is co-chaired by the leading scientific advisor and chief physician of the British government.
Meghana Pandit, medical director of the Oxford University NHS Trust, on the right, speaks to Trevor Cowlett, 88, before receiving the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine and the University of Oxford Covid-19 at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, UK, on Monday, January 4, 2021. UK regulators released the shot last week, marking their first worldwide approval.
Steve Parsons | PA Wire | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The comments come despite the British Medical Association criticizing the UK’s decision to postpone the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He described the move as “grossly unfair” for thousands of patients at risk in England.
“BMA believes that the existing commitment made to these patients by the NHS and local doctors must be respected. If GPs decide to honor these appointments scheduled in January, BMA will support them,” Dr. Richard Vautre, chairman of the BMA GP said in a statement on December 31.
In response to these concerns, the SAGE committee said: “Under normal circumstances, we would advocate continuing 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 ones. 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’s Permanent Vaccination Committee if the country should postpone a second injection of the Pfizer vaccine. “Such a decision requires scientific consideration,” they added.
Necessary ‘difficult’ measures
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the government could soon announce stricter public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Johnson said “tough” measures could be applied in the coming weeks. Currently, more than three quarters of the UK’s population are at Level 4 – the highest level of restrictions.
The opposition Labor Party said the government should impose a national blockade within 24 hours, warning that the virus was “clearly out of control”.
On Sunday, the UK recorded more than 50,000 new infections confirmed by Covid-19 for the sixth consecutive day. The country continues to fight a new strain of the virus that spreads more quickly.
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 appeared in southeastern England, is substantially more transmissible than the previous variants, by 40-80%,” said SAGE in a statement on January 3.
“It is also clear that the current Tier 4 restrictions are unable to contain its spread, even with the closure of schools and universities.”
“The pandemic is now out of control and the NHS is struggling, with some hospitals having to stop non-COVID activities. The SNS is no longer being protected. For these reasons, there is a strong case for maximizing population coverage with at least one dose of the vaccine, even if it requires a change in dosing schedule, ”added the group.