US government chief epidemiologist Anthony Fauci said last Sunday that the second dose of the covid-19 vaccine should not be delayed – contrary to what some experts believe – if the available scientific data is taken into account.
When asked about his position on the matter, Fauci said in an interview with the television network NBC News that by the time the effects of delaying the second dose are studied, there will be enough vaccines for anyone who wants to be immunized.
“What we have now and what we have to deal with is the scientific data that we have collected, and it is very solid she added. We know that with each of these (doses) it is 21 days or 28 days. You can do both. You can get that many people on the first dose while still reasonably on the schedule for the second dose. “
Still, Fauci, chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, acknowledged that “the demand (for vaccines) is clearly greater than the supply.”
“If you see the increase in dose availability in production capacity alone, it will increase as we go from February to March, April and beyond, so there is a clear, clear discrepancy between this – supply and demand – will improve as we go. we’re entering February and March, ”he predicted.
The US is the country in the world most affected by the pandemic, with nearly 27 million cases and more than 462,000 dead, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Given the slow development of the vaccination campaign, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have decided to delay the administration of the second dose of serum.
The UK government has chosen to delay the second dose to 12 weeks, as the first provides “a great deal of protection” against the virus, while the next serves to “complete and expand” immunity, as expressed by the British medical adviser Chris Whitty. .
The British Society for Immunology endorses the plan as an acceptable short-term solution given the “unprecedented situation” that caused the pandemic, while underlining the uncertainties of a strategy for which it sees no conclusive evidence in clinical trials.
The World Health Organization warns of the lack of definitive evidence, although you agree to delay the second dose for up to six weeks in exceptional circumstances, a maximum delay comparable to that of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and half of what the UK provides.