Covid-19 vaccine delay prompt fears for family of Rutland man
The decision to delay a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to patients by 12 weeks has prompted concerns from the family of an 85-year-old man.
Fiona Smith, whose father has had his second jab delayed until March 17, said he and thousands of others were being treated like human guinea pigs and called for health chiefs to reconsider.
Her father, from Tinwell, was given the first dose of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine at St Mary's Medical Centre in Wharf Road, Stamford, on December 30 and was scheduled to receive the second jab later this month.
But six days later, the 85-year-old widower received a text message saying his second dose - which completes the immunisation - would be delayed by up to 12 weeks, nine weeks after the manufacturers’ recommended limit between doses.
“The guidelines and recommendations are crystal clear after the clinical trials,” Fiona said.
“This is a question of ethics - my father received the first dose in good faith that he would receive the second dose as informed – and of efficacy; we have no way of knowing whether the vaccine will create the desired immunity if administered outside the recommended time interval.”
Fiona wrote to her father’s doctor asking him to put pressure on practice managers and local MP to reverse the decision, amid concerns from some doctors the efficacy of the first vaccine will be negated by the delay.
She added: “I will not have my father – and thousands of others in the same position – used as a human guinea pig by tinkering with the dose regime.
“To do so is to subject them to untested procedures.
“This government should be held accountable and the Lakeside Practice must stand by their patients and administer the vaccine regime as dictated by the manufacturers.”
The Government’s vaccination programme was changed following a steep rise in hospitalisations and deaths in recent weeks, and the emergence of a highly-contagious new Covid variant.
The UK’s Chief Medical Officers believe giving the first dose to twice the number of people in the next two to three months is preferable to vaccinating half the number with ‘only slightly greater individual protection'.
NHS England have sought to ease concerns the delay will leave people more vulnerable to Covid-19.
They say the short-term vaccine efficacy from the first dose of the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine is around 90 per cent, and around 70 per cent for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, and offers ‘high protection against severe disease’.
They are also advising Covid-19 vaccination services to prioritise care home residents and staff as well as housebound over 80s.
Its statement said: "Given the high level of protection afforded by the first dose, expert clinical modelling produced by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation shows vaccinating a greater number of people with a single dose will prevent more deaths and hospitalisations than vaccinating a smaller number of people with two doses.
“This public health approach is centred on doing as much good for as many people as possible in the shortest possible time.”