Britain’s leading medical body says the UK government should “immediately review” its decision to take the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronfirus vaccine up to 12 weeks after the first, rather than the shortest gap recommended by the manufacturer and the World Health Organization.
The UK, which has the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe, has adopted the policy to speed up the first dose of vaccine.
To date nearly 5.5 million people have been shot by a vaccine made by US drugmaker Pfizer and BioNTech from Germany or one developed by UK-Swedish drug giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
AstraZeneca has stated that it believes the first dose of its vaccine offers protection after 12 weeks, but Pfizer says it has not tested the effectiveness of injecting after such a long gap.
The British Medical Association on Saturday urged England’s chief medical officer to “immediately review the current UK position on second doses after 12 weeks.”
In a statement, the association said there was “growing concern from the medical professional over the delay of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as Britain’s strategy has become more isolated from many other countries. ”
“No other country has adopted the UK approach,” Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA council, told the BBC.
He said the WHO had suggested that a second view of the Pfizer vaccine could be given up to six weeks after the first but only “in exceptional circumstances. ”
“I understand trade and philosophy, but if that was the right thing to do we would see other countries following suit,” Nagpaul said.
Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, defended the decision as “a reasonable scientific balance in terms of both supply and also protecting the majority of people. ”
Researchers in Britain have begun collecting blood samples from people who have received the new vaccine to check the number of antibodies they make at different times, from 3 weeks to 24 months, to respond. get on the question of what is the best time for the sights.
Doctors’ concerns came a day after government medical advisers said there was evidence that a new strain of the virus first identified in south-east England has a higher risk of death than its original strain.
Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said on Friday that “there is evidence that there is a greater risk for those with the new variant,” which is also more susceptible than the original virus. He said the new pressure could be around 30% more lethal, but stressed that “the evidence is not yet strong” and that more research is needed.
Research by British scientists who were advising the government said that while initial studies showed the strain did not cause a more serious disease, several newers suggest it could.
However, the number of deaths is relatively small, and mortality rates affect many factors, including the care patients receive and their age and health, beyond receiving COVID-19.
Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive, the highest number of viruses tested in Europe.
The UK is locked in to try to slow down the latest outbreak of the virus, and the government says the restrictions will not be stopped any time soon. Pubs, restaurants, gyms, leisure centers and many shops are closed, and people have to stay mostly at home.
The British government is considering tightening quarantine requirements for foreign nationals. Passengers already have to separate themselves for 10 days, but coercion is inconsistent. Authorities are considering asking arrivals to stay in quarantine hotels, a practice that has been practiced in other countries, including Australia.
“We may have to go further to protect our borders,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday.