The second dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine can now be administered between the 34th and 42nd day after the first dose, according to an announcement on Twitter this morning from Health Minister Adam Vojtech. Photo Credit: Vlada.cz (Cropped).
Czech Rep., June 28 (BD) – Adam Vojtech, the former and current Health Minister, announced a change to the administration of second doses of the Pfizer vaccine on his Twitter account today. “This means that if you have a date for the second dose which does not suit you, you can call 1221, where they will help you change it within a limit of 8 days,” he said. “We are looking for ways to make vaccination as accessible as possible.”
According to information published on the Ministry’s website on Friday, June 25th, the intervals for two doses of the vaccine are 38 to 42 days for Pfizer / BioNTech, 25 to 35 days for Moderna (from 11 June), and 84 to 91 days for AstraZeneca.
The Ministry of Health is now considering reducing the gap between the two doses of the most widely used vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech, from six weeks to three, according to Czech TV. The ideal interval between 1st and 2nd dose of the vaccine is 21 days, according to the manufacturer. “Data from the Phase 3 study demonstrated that, although protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95%,” said Pfizer.
The six-week break introduced in the Czech Republic in Spring was motivated by the effort to provide at least partial protection from Covid-19 for as many people as possible in the case of insufficient supply of vaccines. Now, however, the shortage of available vaccines has been mostly resolved.
As of June 27th, 57% of adults in the Czech Republic have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with at least one dose, according to Roman Chlibek of Czech Vaccinology Association.
