Table of Contents – Abroad – European Medicines Agency: Pfizer vaccine can be given a second time three weeks later



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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed on Thursday that it recommended that three weeks elapse between the first and second doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech against coronavirus infection.

The EMA recalled in a statement in The Hague that previous product information indicated that it would have to wait “at least” 21 days for the second dose.

Britain, where this type of vaccine was first licensed, decided in January to extend the interval between the two doses to a maximum of 12 weeks to speed up vaccinations with the first dose. This decision generated controversy and was not supported by the British Medical Chamber because its members said that a maximum of six weeks could elapse between the administration of the two doses.

The World Health Organization has indicated that a maximum of four weeks may elapse between the two doses and, in exceptional cases, six weeks.

The EMA said in a statement Thursday:

in clinical trials of the vaccine, up to six weeks elapsed between the first and second doses.

Therefore, there are currently no data to suggest that the vaccine is effective beyond the time interval used in the studies.

However, the communication emphasized that 93.1 percent of those examined received the second dose between 19 and 23 days after the first.



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