The American expert on infectious diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, said he did not agree with the British approach to delaying the second dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
On Friday, dr. Fauci told CNN that the United States will not follow in the footsteps of the United Kingdom and that Pfizer and BioNTech will follow the lead of giving the second dose of its vaccine three weeks after the first.
Despite calls from doctors, UK chief medical officers have defended their plans to delay the second dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to patients, meaning people will now have to wait up to 12 weeks. The change is to prioritize giving more people their first dose.
Dr Fauci told CNN: ‘We know from clinical trials that it’s the best time to give it one day and for that. [the Moderna jab which is also approved in the US] wait 28 days and for Pfizer 21 days later. He added that although you could ‘argue’ to extend the doses, he would not prefer it.
Pfizer and BioNTech also warned that the two doses are crucial for maximum protection against Covid, saying they have no evidence that the first dose would protect patients after three weeks.
In the UK, the new step applies to people who expected to receive their second dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine after 4 January. Patients receiving the new AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine for the first time will also have to wait up to 12 weeks.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer of England, and his counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland said they stood by their decision to postpone a second dose to ensure more people able to receive their first as soon as possible.
They said: “We must follow the principles of public health and act quickly if we are to overcome this pandemic that is rampant in our communities, and we believe that the public will understand us and thank us for this decisive action.”