A pair of researchers in a letter published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday claimed that the second dose of the Pvizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine could be delayed, despite previous opposition to such a move by health authorities.
In the letter, Researchers from Canada Danuta Skowronski and Gaston De Serres claimed that, based on the analysis of documents submitted by Pfizer to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the vaccine has an efficacy rate of approximately 92.6% after the first dose.
The Pfizer vaccine, which is currently authorized to be given in two doses 21 days apart, reported a 94.8% efficacy against COVID-19 after two doses.
Given the relatively small increase in the efficacy rate between the first and second doses, the authors argued in the letter that “the benefits of a small amount of vaccine could be maximized by postponing the second dose until all members of the priority group are offered. at least one dose. ”
The authors acknowledged that while there may be “uncertainty about the duration of single-dose protection”, the second dose weeks after the first “offers few added benefits in the short term, while high-risk individuals who may have received a The first dose with this vaccine offer are left completely unprotected. ”
The researchers further argued that “postponing the second dose is a matter of national security which, if ignored, will certainly lead to thousands of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths this winter in the United States – hospitalizations and deaths that would have been prevented with a first dose of vaccine. ”
The medical journal also published Pfizer’s reply to the letter, in which the pharmaceutical manufacturer stated that the “alternative dosing regimens” for its vaccine had not yet been properly assessed.
The decision to implement alternative dosing regimes is up to the health authorities, Pfizer continued. However, we at Pfizer believe that it is essential for health authorities to monitor the alternative dosing programs implemented to ensure that vaccines provide the maximum possible protection. ”
The letters come as experts remain divided over the delay in the second dose of coronavirus vaccines, to allow more people in high-priority groups to receive protection against COVID-19 faster.
Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci: Many top players in the NBA are afraid of promoting COVID-19 vaccines: White House report says teacher vaccinations are not necessary for schools to reopen John Berman, CNN, blames White House assistant on reopening schools: “It’s not a trick question”, the nations’ greatest expert on infectious diseases, said on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” that he did not agree with the experts calling for a second delayed dose, adding that more research would be needed to measure the long-term level of protection that single-dose people can receive.
“The amount of time it will take, the amount of people you should put into the study – by then, we will already be in the arena of having enough, of having enough vaccines to go around, anyway. Said Fauci. .
“But what we have now and what we need to go with is the scientific data that we have accumulated and it is really very solid,” he added. “We know that for each of them there are 21 days or 28 days. You can do both. You can get as many people in their first dose at the same time as you reasonably adhere to the second dose schedule. ”