The main health advisory body in France, the Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS), recommended on Saturday (January 23) that the period of time between the administration of the first and second injections of the new coronavirus vaccine be doubled. said media reports. .
France has started its vaccination with older people and healthcare workers, and according to the current protocol, there is a three-week interval between the two injections for people in nursing homes and four weeks for healthcare workers.
Authorities now want the gap to extend to six weeks.
How will increasing the gap between doses help?
The priority of the French authorities seems to be to quickly inoculate as many people as possible.
The HAS has said that increasing the gap between the first and second injections would allow at least 7 lakhs more people to be vaccinated in the first month of the inoculation program, Reuters reported.
France is using the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
“The increasing number of infections and the worrying arrival of new variants demand an acceleration of the vaccination campaign to prevent the epidemic from escalating in the coming weeks,” the HAS said in a statement, according to the Reuters report.
So is there a vaccine shortage in France?
Shortages have been reported in several countries. The council of HAS, which is an independent body whose recommendations are not binding on the government, suggests a political debate in France about the best way to use the supplies that are not abundant.
The New York Times reported a similar shortage in the United States, giving examples from states like Texas, South Carolina, and California.
“Suddenly, vaccine distribution stopped,” the New York Times told Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, executive director of the Houston-based Harris Health System, which runs hospitals and clinics in Harris County, Texas.
“It is puzzling and frustrating because I keep hearing that there is a high percentage of vaccines that have been distributed but not administered,” Dr. Porsa said according to the report.
The New York Times report gave examples of vaccine shortages in various parts of the US.
In Beaufort, South Carolina, a hospital had to cancel 6,000 appointments after receiving just 450 doses of the vaccine, according to the report. In Maui, Hawaii, a hospital had to cancel 5,000 first-dose appointments and postpone 15,000 appointment requests. The San Francisco public health department feared he would run out of vaccines after his allocation fell dramatically, and in Erie County in New York state, “thousands” of vaccination appointments were canceled in recent days, according to the NYT report.
But can’t a single shot of the vaccine work?
No. The three main vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Oxford-AstraZeneca, require two doses in order to extend full protection.
As part of his advice, the Frenchman has stressed that it is essential that everyone has a second chance, according to the Reuters report.
The World Health Organization said this month that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should be given within 21 to 28 days.
Can widening the gap between doses affect efficacy?
Several countries are considering ways to stretch scarce supplies by delaying dosing intervals or reducing the size of doses, according to the Reuters report.
Pfizer-BioNTech has said that there is no evidence that the vaccine continues to protect against the new coronavirus if the second dose is given more than 21 days after the first.
In the UK, regulators have said injections can be given up to 12 weeks apart; However, a group of British doctors have written to England’s chief medical officer to reduce the gap between the doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to six weeks, Reuters said the report.
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Does India have enough supplies of the vaccine?
From now on, yes. In fact, India’s current concern is a degree of vacillation hesitation, which has manifested itself in a reluctance to take the injections.
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, which makes Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for India and several other countries under license, has repeatedly stressed that there will be no shortage of Covishield doses.
Also, Bharat Biotech’s supply of Covaxin is likely to accelerate soon. The government has ensured that there will be various vaccines available to the Indian people for the summer.
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