A pharmacist dilutes the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as it prepares to administer it to staff and residents at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, an older community in Falls Church, Virginia, on December 30, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Health experts conditionally support UK administration of a second dose of coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, warning that the need to suppress the new coronavirus strain ‘cannot be too high’ be not.
This comes 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, will now be administered up to 12 weeks after the first dose. word.
The National Health Service had previously planned to administer a second dose of Covid-19 vaccine three weeks after the first dose, trusting that they would maintain a high level of protection against the virus.
The UK Independent Scientific Advisory Group (SAGE) said in a statement on Sunday that it was a ‘very difficult and well-balanced decision’, but it endorsed the UK government to cover such a large part of to follow the population as possible.
However, it is said that the change in policy should be accompanied by several other measures. These include: the publication of a detailed and convincing strategy to increase vaccination, the development of a careful evaluation process, a real-time evaluation of the ongoing viral variation and the need to move to and from Britain to the rest of to limit the country. the world.
SAGE is made up of health experts and academics and is chaired by the UK’s chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer.
Meghana Pandit, Chief Medical Officer at Oxford University’s NHS Trust, speaks to Trevor Cowlett (88) on the right before receiving the AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University Covid-19 vaccination at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, UK 4 January 2021. British regulators cleared the shot last week, which was the first approval worldwide.
Steve Parsons | PA wire | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The remarks come despite the British Medical Association criticizing the UK decision to delay second-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It describes the move as “very unfair” to thousands of at-risk patients in England.
“The BMA believes that the existing commitment made by the NHS and local clinicians to these patients should be respected. If GPs decide to comply with these discussions in January, the BMA will support them,” said Dr. Richard Vautre, chairman of the BMA committee, said in a statement on December 31.
In response to this concern, the SAGE Committee said: “Under normal circumstances, we will advocate the continuation of the earlier plans to administer two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 21 days apart. However, these are not normal circumstances and there are other important public health considerations as well. ‘
The German Ministry of Health on Monday sought advice from an independent vaccination commission to follow in the footsteps of the United Kingdom.
A ministry spokesman confirmed to CNBC that the German government had asked the Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute whether the country should delay a second screening of the Pfizer vaccine. “Such a decision needs to be scientifically considered,” they added.
‘Tough’ measures needed
British 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 ‘difficult’ measures could still be in place for weeks. At present, more than three-quarters of the British population is in Tier 4 – the highest level of restrictions.
The Labor opposition party said the government should impose a national exclusion within 24 hours and warned that the virus was “clearly out of control”.
The UK recorded more than 50,000 newly confirmed Covid-19 infections for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday. The country continues to fight a new kind of virus that is spreading faster.
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 apparently originated in the South East of England, is 40-80% significantly more transmissible than previous variants,” SAGE said in a statement on 3 January.
“It is also clear that the current Tier 4 restrictions cannot limit its distribution, even with the closure of schools and universities.”
“The pandemic is now out of control, and the NHS is struggling, and some hospitals have to stop non-COVID activities. The NHS is no longer protected. For these reasons, there is a strong argument to maximize population coverage. ‘, with at least one dose of vaccine, although it requires a change in the dosing schedule,’ the group added.