WHO Recommends Pfizer Vaccine Dosing Interval Within 28 Days... Urges Avoiding Extended Intervals

"Flexible Response According to Each Country's Situation" Added
Pfizer Reluctant to Extend Vaccination Interval "No Evidence Provided"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that the interval between the first and second doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine be within 28 days. This recommendation is interpreted as a request for restraint to health authorities worldwide, following the UK, Germany, and Denmark announcing plans to extend the dosing interval despite the absence of research on the risks of arbitrarily increasing the interval.

According to major foreign media such as CNBC on the 5th (local time), Alejandro Cravioto, chair of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, stated at an online press conference held that day, "We recommend that the interval for the Pfizer vaccine be between 21 and 28 days," adding, "Although there are no clinical trial results on the risks occurring after more than 3 to 4 weeks following the first dose, some countries are delaying the second dose by a few weeks to maximize vaccination, which is why this recommendation is being issued."

Chairman Cravioto added, "However, this recommendation can be somewhat flexibly interpreted depending on the circumstances each country faces." This is understood as a comment considering that some European countries such as the UK, Germany, and Denmark have already extended or are reviewing the extension of the dosing interval. Previously, the UK health authorities announced on the 30th of last month that they would delay the interval between the first and second vaccine doses from the existing 4 weeks to 12 weeks, and on the 4th, German and Danish health authorities announced they were considering extending the second dose timing from 3 weeks to 6 weeks.

However, there is ongoing controversy within the UK regarding the sudden extension of the dosing interval. According to the BBC, over 1 million people have received the first dose in the UK, and some of them have already received the second dose. Those whose second dose has been delayed since the change in dosing interval on the 30th of last month are expressing dissatisfaction. The British Medical Association (BMA) is also reported to have criticized it as a "very unfair measure."

Pfizer and BioNTech, the manufacturers of the Pfizer vaccine, have also expressed reluctance. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the two companies stated in a joint statement on the 4th, "The dosing interval specified in the clinical trial design is within 21 days, and the majority of clinical trial participants received the second dose according to this interval," adding, "There is no data proving that the preventive effect continues 21 days after the first dose."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.