A few researchers claimed in a letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday that the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine could be delayed, despite previous opposition to such a move from health authorities.
In the letter, Canada-based researchers Danuta Skowronski and Gaston De Serres argued that, based on analysis of documents submitted by Pfizer to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the vaccine has approximately 92.6 percent efficacy after the first dose.
The Pfizer vaccine, which is currently approved for delivery in two doses 21 days apart, reported 94.8 percent efficacy against COVID-19 after two doses.
Given the relatively small increase in efficacy between the first and second dose, the authors argued in the letter that “the benefits arising from a scarce supply of vaccines can be maximized by delaying second doses until all members of the priority group have reached least are offered. one dose. ”
The authors acknowledged that while there may be “uncertainty about the duration of protection with a single dose,” the second dose weeks after the first “provides little additional benefit in the short term, while high-risk individuals receiving a first dose. could have gotten with that vaccine stock are left completely unprotected. ”
The researchers further argued that “delaying the second dose is a national security issue that, if ignored, will certainly result in thousands of Covid-19-related hospitalizations and deaths this winter in the United States – hospitalizations and deaths that would have been prevent with a first dose of vaccine. “
The medical journal also published Pfizer’s response to the letter, in which the pharmaceutical manufacturer noted that “alternative dosing regimens” for its vaccine have not yet been properly evaluated.
“The decision to implement alternative dosing regimens rests with health authorities,” Pfizer continued. “However, we at Pfizer believe it is critical for health authorities to oversee implemented alternative dosing schedules to ensure vaccines provide the maximum possible protection.”
The letters come as experts remain divided on whether or not to delay second doses of coronavirus vaccines to help more people in high-priority groups receive protection from COVID-19 more quickly.
Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci Many top NBA players are concerned about promoting COVID-19 vaccines: White House report says teacher vaccinations are not necessary for schools to reopen John Berman, White House aide condemns at school reopening:, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he disagreed with experts calling for a delayed second dose, adding that more research would be needed to measure the level of long-term protection that individuals could receive with just one dose.
“The amount of time it will take, the number of people you should put into the study – by then we’ll be in the arena to have enough, to have enough vaccines anyway,” Fauci said.
“But what we have now, and what we need to deal with, is the scientific data that we’ve collected, and it’s really really solid,” he added. “We know that with each of these it is 21 days or 28 days. You can do both. You can get as many people as possible on their first dose while reasonably sticking to the second dose schedule. “