However, the decision was discussed in the medical community, and the chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) called on ministers to follow ‘best practice’ and to wait up to six weeks for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. shortened.
Pfizer / BioNTech recommends that the second dose be given 21 days after the first dose, stating that there is no data that can support a 12-week gap.
“What we are saying is that the UK should apply this best practice based on international professional opinion,” said BMA chairman, dr. Chaand Nagpaul, told the BBC on Saturday. The organization sent a letter to British medical chief Chris Whitty warning of the delay.
“Most countries in the world face challenges similar to the UK because they have limited vaccine supply and also want to protect their population to the maximum,” Nagpaul added. “No other country has accepted the British approach.”
In a statement to CNN, a BMA spokesman said the letter informed Whitty of ‘the growing concern of the medical profession about the delay in the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because the UK’s strategy of many others countries are increasingly isolated.
The group told CNN they were also concerned about the availability of the vaccine in the coming weeks, saying their members felt that ‘given the unpredictable supply, there may be no guarantee that the second doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be available within 12 weeks. will not be available ‘time.’
“The Association calls on the (medical officer) to urgently review the UK’s current position of second doses after twelve weeks,” they said.
Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle defended the plan, telling the BBC on Saturday that it was necessary to bring the virus under control.
“The more people are protected against this virus, the less likely it is to gain the upper hand. It’s the right thing to do to protect more people,” she said.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has been in use in the UK since early December, when it became the first country in the world to approve it.
When Britain first announced its plans, Pfizer said it had no data to show that only a single dose of its vaccine would provide protection against the disease after more than 21 days.
“Pfizer and BioNTech’s Phase 3 study for the Covid-19 vaccine is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine according to a two-dose schedule separated by 21 days,” Pfizer said in a statement last month. said. “There are no data to show that protection is maintained after the first dose after 21 days.”
But the chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland explained the move in a letter to health workers after the vaccine was approved, saying it was based on the ‘balance of risks and benefits’ and that the’ vast majority ‘an initial protection comes from the first stab.
The debate comes as Covid-19 deaths rise in the UK. While new cases have been declining since Britain was locked up for a third time this month, the country on Wednesday reported its highest death toll ever, with 1,820 deaths, which according to John Hopkins University is a total of 97,517.