BERLIN / COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Germany on Monday weighed whether to delay the administration of a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer to keep supplies in short supply, following a similar move by Britain last week. .
Separately, Denmark on Monday approved a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second shots of the vaccine.
In Berlin, the Ministry of Health asked the opinion of an independent vaccination commission on whether a second survey should be delayed outside the current maximum limit of 42 days, according to a one-page document seen by Reuters on Monday.
The move comes amid criticism of Health Minister Jens Spahn – including by his conservative political allies – that Germany could not obtain enough vaccines and was too slow to set up its national vaccination campaign.
Spahn told his Christian Democratic Union in a closed door-to-door meeting on Monday that he hopes to offer vaccinations in Germany by the summer, after sources who attended it still received approval by the vaccines.
Some German health experts have welcomed the intention to delay Britain from delaying the administration of a second dose of BioNTech / Pfizer shot. Governments are trying to protect as many people as possible from coronavirus by giving them one shot and delaying a second.
“Given 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 more effective,” said Leif-Erik Sander, head of the vaccine research team at the Charité Hospital in Berlin.
According to the latest daily update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has vaccinated about 239,000 people since the start of the campaign on December 27 – far less than the 1.3 million doses delivered by the end of 2020.
By comparison, Britain has so far administered more than a million COVID-19 vaccines, more than the rest of Europe has put together, Health Minister Matt Hancock said.
DANISH CONSIDERATION
The Danish health authority will have to wait up to six weeks before a second dose is administered, its head, Soren Brostrom, told local news outlet Ritzau on Monday after investigating the data on the vaccine.
But Brostrom said the original guidelines to wait just three to four weeks should be followed where possible.
‘If you go longer than six weeks, we can not see the scientific evidence that you are protected with certainty. That is why we can not recommend it, ”Brostrom added.
As of Monday, a total of 46,975 Danes had received the first Pfizer BioNTech shot, mostly health workers and the elderly.
While a longer interval between shots has not been tested in clinical trials, some scientists have said it is a sensible plan, given the exceptional circumstances.
The European Union’s approval for a Moderna vaccine, which is expected this week, will have to add another 1.5 million doses in the coming weeks, according to a document from the German Ministry of Health.
In total, Germany, with about 83 million people, should receive 50 million doses of Moderna recording this year under EU-wide procurement contracts.
Regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine approved by Britain last week, the German Ministry of Health said that the ongoing review of the European Medicines Agency was continuing under ‘high pressure’.
“The aim is to decide as soon as possible on the way forward and on the scope of the approval” for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the document reads.
Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; written by Douglas Busvine and Josephine Mason; edited by Thomas Seythal, Maria Sheahan and Gareth Jones