UK doctors seek review of 12-week gap between vaccine doses

 A major British doctors' group says UK government should “urgently review” it's decision to give people a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine up to 12 weeks after first, rar than shorter gap recommended by manufacturer and World Health Organisation. UK, which has Europe's deadliest coronavirus outbreak, adopted policy in order to give as many people as possible a first dose of vaccine quickly.

So far almost 5.5 million people have received a shot of eir a vaccine made by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech or one developed by UK-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

AstraZeneca has said it believes a first dose of its vaccine offers protection after 12 weeks, but Pfizer says it has t tested efficacy of its jab after such a long gap.

British Medical Association on Saturday urged England's chief medical officer to “urgently review UK's current position of second doses after 12 weeks. In a statement, association said re was growing concern from medical profession regarding delay of second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as Britain's strategy has become increasingly isolated from many or countries.  or nation has adopted UK's approach, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of BMA council, told BBC.

He said WHO had recommended that second Pfizer vaccine shot could be given up to six weeks after first but only “in exceptional circumstances.

I do understand trade-off and rationale, but if that was right thing to do n we would see or nations following suit, Nagpaul said.

Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, defended decision as a reasonable scientific balance on basis of both supply and also protecting most people. 

Researchers in Britain have begun collecting blood samples from newly vaccinated people in order to study how many antibodies y are producing at different intervals, from 3 weeks to 24 months, to get an answer to question of what timing is best for shots.

doctors' concerns came a day after government medical advisers said re was evidence that a new variant of virus first identified in souast England carries a greater risk of death than original strain.

Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said Friday that re is evidence that re is an increased risk for those who have new variant, which is also more transmissible than original virus.

He said new strain might be about 30% more deadly, but stressed that “ evidence is t yet strong” and more research is needed.

Research by British scientists advising government said although initial analyses suggested that strain did t cause more severe disease, several more recent ones suggest it might.However, number of deaths is relatively small, and fatality rates are affected by many things, including care that patients get and ir and health, beyond having COVID-19.Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive, highest confirmed virus toll in Europe.

UK is in a lockdown to try to slow latest surge of virus, and government says an end to restrictions will t come soon. Pubs, restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues and many shops are closed, and people are required to stay largely at home. British government is considering tightening quarantine requirements for people arriving from abroad. Already travellers must self-isolate for 10 days, but enforcement is patchy. Authorities are considering requiring arrivals to stay in quarantine hotels, a practice adopted in or countries, including Australia.

“We may need to go furr to protect our borders,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday.