British urgent “Allow the first and second different vaccines” … Experts “Science abandoned”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson explains the UK’s response policy for Corona 19 on the 30th of last month (local time). [AFP=연합뉴스]

The British government came up with a headwind after presenting new guidelines to speed up COVID-19 vaccination. Controversy over a plan to widen the gap between the first and second vaccination from 4 to 12 weeks, but after receiving a backlash from the medical community, will allow ‘mixed vaccines’ using different types of vaccines for the first and second second vaccination. That’s what’s happening.

According to the British Financial Times (FT) the second (local time), the UK government recently added in the Green Book, a guide to vaccination, that different types of vaccines can be administered for the first and second vaccination. To date, the UK has approved the use of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. According to the guidelines, it is possible to receive the Pfizer vaccine first and then the AstraZeneca vaccine second.

However, this is contrary to the guidelines of other regulatory authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is causing controversy. CDC vaccination guidelines prohibit the use of both types of vaccines. This is because safety and efficacy have not been confirmed. Consequently, the CDC recommends that “two doses should be completed with the same product.”

Vaccine experts also criticized it. John Moore, a professor at Cornell University in the United States, criticized the New York Times (NYT), saying: “There is no data related to the mixture of vaccines” and “The British government seems to be in a hurry to get out of the current situation, not by making scientific judgments. ”

AstraZeneca vaccine, which was urgently approved by the British government on the 30th of last month (local time). [AFP=연합뉴스]

As the controversy grew, Mary Ramsey, head of immunization at the UK Department of Public Health (PHE), explained that “the combined doses will be used in very limited cases, such as extremely rare cases where the same vaccine is not available or the vaccine is not known. ” did. It means that the combination of vaccines is not strongly recommended.

“Every effort should be made to give the same vaccine to vaccinated people, but if that is not possible, a second dose of another vaccine is better than nothing,” he said.

Previously, the United Kingdom announced that it would extend the interval between two vaccinations to 12 weeks, which generated controversy. Vaccine manufacturers, the British medical community, and the US health authorities disagree, stating that “the interval between administrations for which efficacy and safety has been verified is 3 to 4 weeks.”

Pfizer made a statement and said: “The efficacy and safety of the vaccine administered at 21-day intervals has been verified as a result of clinical trials.” “Data showing that the preventive effect is maintained even if the vaccine is administered after 21 days. There is no, “he said. The British Medical Association (BMA) also issued a statement and criticized that increasing the vaccination interval was an unfair measure for those who had a second vaccine, such as the elderly, and that it was difficult to change the schedule suddenly.

In an interview with CNN, Anthony Pouch, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told CNN: “There was no data to indicate that I could wait longer than the normal time (3-4 weeks) between the first and second vaccines. ” He voiced his opposition to “We want to stick to what the science tells us,” he said. “If you look at the data from clinical trials, you can see that 21 for Pfizer and 28 for Moderna are the most effective.”

A street in central London. As the number of corona19 infections increased rapidly due to the spread of the mutant virus, the UK raised the lockdown level in areas such as London and the south-east of England to the highest level of 4, and maintains it from the second (local time ).[AFp=연합뉴스]

The UK government guidelines for vaccination have a strong incubation character. It’s trying to break the spread of Corona 19 by testing the first dose on as many people as possible. The UK has been fighting vaccines by approving the world’s first vaccine for Pfizer and AstraZeneca, but the spread of the mutant virus is becoming more pronounced.
As of the second day (local time), the number of new confirmed cases in the UK per day was 57,725, the highest since March last year. The cumulative confirmed case was 25,065 and the death toll was 74,125.

For this reason, some argue that British government guidelines should accept and follow a kind of “wartime medicine.”

“It’s similar to show medicine and it doesn’t seem absurd,” said Jonathan Stoy, a virologist at the Francis Creek Institute. However, he added that mixed vaccinations should not be done as usual. As the government said, it means that it can only be allowed in exceptional circumstances.

The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which make up the Commonwealth, also wrote in an open letter: “If you give other people a vaccine that they will get their second-line vaccine, you can boost their immunity from 0% 70% “. “We must follow the government’s policy to overcome the worst coronavirus outbreak,” he appealed.

Reporter Jeong Eun-hye [email protected]