Delaying second dose of Pfizer vaccine too long could boost infections and deaths, study warns - National Post

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“Their underlying assumptions look to be incorrect,” echoed Julie Bettinger, a vaccine-safety scientist and another member of the advisory committee.

It would be speculative and imprudent to deviate from the planned dosing schedule

The committee has said that health authorities can consider delaying the second dose of both vaccines to as long as six weeks, as opposed to the recommended three weeks for Pfizer, and four weeks for Moderna, if necessary. The U.S. government also recently urged that clinics not hold onto doses for second shots.

Health Canada acknowledges there is a “high level of scientific uncertainty” around the protection offered when doses are spread further apart, but urges health officials to consult the advisory committee’s recommendations, said Tammy Jarbeau, a department spokeswoman.

University of Ottawa health policy expert Amir Attaran, while not commenting directly on the new paper, said he has qualms about changing the recommended gap.

“In the absence of evidence for delaying doses — and neither vaccine’s clinical trials furnished such evidence — it would be speculative and imprudent to deviate from the planned dosing schedule,” said Attaran, who has a doctorate in immunology. “The immune system is an often-mysterious black box that does not behave as predicted, and so humility before the data is best.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, 984,541 doses of vaccine had been administered in Canada, most of them single doses, according to the covid19tracker.ca website. Fewer than 120,000 Canadians have received the full two doses.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vbmF0aW9uYWxwb3N0LmNvbS9oZWFsdGgvZGVsYXlpbmctc2Vjb25kLWRvc2Utb2YtcGZpemVyLXZhY2NpbmUtY291bGQtYm9vc3QtaW5mZWN0aW9ucy1hbmQtZGVhdGhzLXN0dWR5LXdhcm5z0gGiAWh0dHBzOi8vbmF0aW9uYWxwb3N0LmNvbS9oZWFsdGgvZGVsYXlpbmctc2Vjb25kLWRvc2Utb2YtcGZpemVyLXZhY2NpbmUtY291bGQtYm9vc3QtaW5mZWN0aW9ucy1hbmQtZGVhdGhzLXN0dWR5LXdhcm5zL3djbS85YTJiNjQ1OC0wNDgyLTRlMDctODIwNS1jMjVmZWY1OWJmYjIvYW1wLw?oc=5

2021-02-03 16:41:15Z
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