BERLIN / COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Germany was on Monday reflecting on whether to allow postponement of a second dose of BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in order to further grow scarce supplies, after a similar move by Great Britain last week.
Separately, on Monday, Denmark approved a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second injection of the vaccine.
In Berlin, the Ministry of Health sought the opinion of an independent vaccination commission on whether or not to delay a second admission beyond the current maximum limit of 42 days, according to a one-page document seen by Reuters on Monday.
The move came amid criticism from Health Minister Jens Spahn – also from his conservative political allies – that Germany has not procured enough vaccines and has been too slow to ramp up its national vaccination campaign.
Spahn told his Christian Democratic union at a closed-door meeting on Monday that he hoped to offer vaccinations to everyone in Germany by this summer once vaccines are again approved by regulatory authorities, sources in attendance said.
Some German health experts welcome the UK move to delay the administration of a second dose of the BioNTech / Pfizer injection, which is because governments are trying to protect as many people as possible from the coronavirus by giving them a chance and a second to wait.
“Given the current scarcity of vaccines and the very high rate of infections and hospitalizations (in Germany), a strategy of vaccinating as many people as possible as early as possible is more effective,” said Leif-Erik Sander, head of the vaccine research team at Charité- hospital in Berlin.
According to the latest daily update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has vaccinated about 239,000 people since the campaign started on December 27 – well less than the 1.3 million doses administered at the end of 2020.
In comparison, Britain has administered more than a million COVID-19 vaccines so far, more than the rest of Europe put together, said Health Minister Matt Hancock.
DANISH MOVEMENT
The Danish health authority will allow a waiting time of up to six weeks before a second dose is administered, head Soren Brostrom told local Ritzau news report Monday, after examining vaccination data.
But Brostrom said the original guidelines of waiting just three to four weeks should be followed whenever possible.
“If you go longer than six weeks, we can’t see the scientific evidence that you are definitely protected. That’s why we can’t recommend that, ”added Brostrom.
On Monday, a total of 46,975 Danes had received the first Pfizer-BioNTech injection, mostly health workers and the elderly.
While a longer interval between shots has not been tested in clinical trials, some scientists said it was a wise plan given the extraordinary circumstances.
European Union approval for a Moderna vaccine, expected this week, should add an additional 1.5 million doses in the coming weeks, the German Ministry of Health document said.
In total, Germany, which employs approximately 83 million people, should receive 50 million doses of the Moderna shot this year under EU-wide procurement contracts.
Regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine approved by Britain last week, Germany’s Ministry of Health said the European Medicines Agency’s ongoing review is under “high pressure”.
“The goal is to decide the way forward and the scope of approval as soon as possible” for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the document said.
Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; written by Douglas Busvine and Josephine Mason; edited by Thomas Seythal, Maria Sheahan and Gareth Jones