LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Nearly 20,000 second doses of the
COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech
were given to people in England before guidelines
were changed to prioritise giving out first doses, the National
Health Service said on Thursday.
The figures showed that 19,981 second vaccinations were
given between the Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, out of 1.1 million total
administered in England. Across the whole of the United Kingdom,
1.3 million doses have been deployed.
The day after second vaccinations began, health officials
said they would prioritise giving as many people as possible a
first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to offer some protection over
the rollout of booster shots.
That means second shots will now be given up to 12 weeks
after people receive their first shots, prompting criticism from
some scientists, and frustration from people who have seen
appointments cancelled.
While AstraZeneca's shot was tested with different intervals
between doses, Pfizer has said there is no data to demonstrate
the efficacy of its first dose after 21 days.
On Tuesday, England's Chief Medical Officer said that the
balance of risk supported the move, adding protection from a
single dose would likely be more than 50% even if it did pose a
small risk of an "escape mutant" of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes that by giving at least
some protection to more than 13 million people in priority
groups over the next six weeks, it will be possible to consider
easing strict lockdown measures from mid-February.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden)