BERLIN v COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Germany weighed on Monday whether it would allow a delay in administering a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer to keep supplies low after a similar move by Britain last week.
Separately, Denmark approved a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second vaccines on Monday.
In Berlin, the health ministry sought the views of an independent vaccination commission on the delay of a second photo above 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 – including from its conservative political allies – that Germany had failed to procure enough vaccines and was too slow to step up its national inoculation campaign.
Spahn told his Christian Democratic Union in a closed-door meeting on Monday that he hopes to offer vaccinations to everyone in Germany by this summer, once the vaccines are approved for regulation, according to sources who attended.
Some German health experts have praised Britain for delaying the administration of a second dose of the BioNTech / Pfizer shot, which comes as governments try to protect the coronavirus from as many people as possible by giving them a single shot and delay. a second.
“Given the current shortage of vaccines and the very large number of infections and hospitalizations (in Germany), a strategy to vaccinate as many people as possible as early as possible is more effective,” said Leif-Erik Sander, team leader. vaccine research at the Charité Berlin Hospital.
However, BioNTech and Pfizer stressed in a joint statement the lack of study data to support the delay of the second dose.
“The safety and efficacy of the vaccine were not evaluated on different dosing regimens, as most study participants received the second dose in the window specified in the study design,” the companies said, referring to a primary vaccine and a booster given three weeks apart.
“There is no evidence that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days.”
The European Medicines Agency has stated that a maximum of 42 days between the first and second shot of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine should be observed in order to obtain full protection.
According to the latest daily update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has vaccinated approximately 239,000 people since the launch of its campaign on December 27 – well in addition to the 1.3 million doses that were administered by the end of 2020.
For comparison, the United Kingdom has so far administered more than one million COVID-19 vaccines, more than the rest of Europe put together, said Health Minister Matt Hancock.
DANISH MOVEMENT
The Danish health authority will allow a wait of up to six weeks before administering the second dose, its chief Soren Brostrom told local Ritzau news on Monday after examining vaccine data.
But Brostrom said the initial guidelines for waiting only three to four weeks should be followed whenever possible.
“If you go for more than six weeks, we cannot see the scientific evidence that you are protected with certainty. Therefore, we cannot recommend this “, added Brostrom.
As of Monday, a total of 46,975 Danes had received the first Pfizer-BioNTech shooting, mainly from health workers and the elderly.
While a longer interval between photos has not been tested in clinical trials, some scientists have said it is a sensitive plan given the extraordinary circumstances.
The European Union’s approval for a vaccine from Moderna, expected this week, is expected to add another 1.5 million supply doses in the coming weeks, according to the document of the German Ministry of Health.
In total, Germany, which has around 83 million people, is expected to receive 50 million doses of the film Moderna this year under European procurement contracts.
Regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine approved last week by the UK, the German Ministry of Health said that the ongoing review of the European Medicines Agency is under “high pressure”.
“The aim is, as soon as possible, to decide on the way forward and on the scope of approval” for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the document states.
Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; written by Douglas Busvine and Josephine Mason; edited by Thomas Seythal, Maria Sheahan and Gareth Jones