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LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A group of British doctors have
written to England's chief medical officer to tell him to cut
the gap between doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech
vaccine to six weeks from up to 12.
Britain is prioritising giving first doses of COVID-19
vaccine, allowing up to 12 weeks before a second dose, to give
the maximum number of people some initial protection.
But Pfizer and BioNTech have warned they have no evidence
their vaccine would continue to be protective if the second dose
is given more than 21 days after the first.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said in a statement
emailed on Saturday that it has written to the Chief Medical
Officer (CMO) for England Chris Whitty.
The BMA said it supports giving a second dose up to 42 days
after the first dose, but that a longer gap is not in line with
World Health Organization guidance.
It therefore urged the CMO to "urgently review the UK's
current position of second doses after 12 weeks".
"The UK’s strategy has become increasingly isolated from
many other countries," the BMA said.
"BMA members are also concerned that, given the
unpredictability of supplies, there may not be any guarantees
that second doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be available in 12
weeks’ time."
Whitty told a media conference on Friday that the longer gap
between doses was a "public health decision" aimed at
vaccinating many more people and based on a belief that the
great majority of protection comes from the first jab.
Britain is using two vaccines, one from Pfizer and the other
from AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca has supported the gap between its jabs, saying
data showed an 8-12 week gap was a "sweet spot" for efficacy.
The Department of Health and Social Care said in an emailed
statement that its priority was to protect as many people as
possible as quickly as possible.
"The decision...to change vaccine dosage intervals followed
a thorough review of the data and was in line with the
recommendations of the UK’s four chief medical officers," a DHSC
spokeswoman said.
Some 5.38 million people have been given a first dose of
vaccine in the UK, government data showed.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Jason Neely)
