There is no evidence that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNtech will continue to provide protection against Covid-19 if the second injection comes later than studied, Reuters news agency reported Monday, based on a joint statement by the two companies.
"The protection and efficacy of the vaccine was not evaluated on different dosing regimens, since the majority of test participants received the second dose as specified in the study design," BioNTech and Pfizer warned.
BioNTech and Pfizer's vaccine must be given twice for maximum protection. Normally, the second injection should occur three weeks after the first.
"There is no data to show that protection after the first dose persists after 21 days," Reuters said.
For the time being, Belgium will stick to administering two doses of the vaccine with a maximum period of 21 days between the two shots, according to Pierre Van Damme, who is part of the country's vaccination taskforce.
The Brussels Times
