A plan to leave 12 weeks between doses of Covid-19 vaccine will receive WHO support, experts predict

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Will WHO return a 12-week job gap? World Health Organization backed by plan to leave 12 weeks between doses of Covid-19 vaccine, experts predict

  • The WHO currently recommends a maximum of six weeks between doses
  • The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) proposal for a longer period was first criticized.
  • Four top British medical officials are backing the strategy, which supporters say will save lives by providing some sort of protection for people more quickly.
  • JCVI vice-chair, Professor Anthony Harndern, believes the WHO will comply with UK guidelines

By Victoria Allen Science Journalist for the Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

A decision to leave 12 weeks between vaccine doses to expand UK supply is said to have been backed by the World Health Organization.

The controversial recommendation was made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Vaccination (JCVI) to deliver the second human injection up to three months after the first.

Four British medical chiefs are backing the strategy, which supporters say will save lives by providing some sort of protection to people more quickly.

But critics include the British Medical Association, whose council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul has said the level of protection from delaying a second dose was unknown.

Yesterday, however, the vice-chairman of the JCVI suggested that the World Health Organization (WHO) could adopt the strategy soon.

A decision to leave 12 weeks between vaccine doses to expand UK supply is said to have been backed by the World Health Organization. Pictured: World Health Organization building in Geneva, Switzerland [File photo]

The decision to leave 12 weeks between vaccine doses to expand UK supply is said to have been backed by the World Health Organization. Pictured: World Health Organization building in Geneva, Switzerland [File photo]

Four top British medical officials are backing the strategy to delay the second dose of the vaccine to people up to three months after the first, and supporters say it will save lives. by giving people some protection faster. Pictured: A woman receives a dose of the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine at Acklam Road Pharmacy in Middlesbrough on Thursday

Four top British medical officials are backing the strategy to delay the second dose of the vaccine to people up to three months after the first, and supporters say it will save lives. by giving people some protection faster. Pictured: A woman receives a dose of the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine at Acklam Road Pharmacy in Middlesbrough on Thursday

Professor Anthony Harnden, from Oxford University, said: ‘Now I know that WHO is looking at this right now .. because a couple of WHO committee members sitting on JCVI – and look carefully, carefully at what the UK is doing.

‘And my prediction – this is my personal prediction – is that the WHO will indeed be in line with what the UK is doing.

“It simply came to our notice then.

So the more we see the data giving us confidence that we are coming to the right decision, the more likely it is that WHO will come in. ‘

The WHO currently recommends a maximum of six weeks between doses of Pfizer injection, although it is a condition that it will reconsider this if more evidence becomes available.

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