Asked by: Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the amount of time between the administration of the first and the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine does not exceed six weeks.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Since December 2020, the Government’s policy has been to offer people their second vaccine dose up to 12 weeks after their first dose. The decision to update the dosing interval will give as many people at the highest risk their first dose as soon as possible and it is in line with the conditions of authorisation from Medicines and Healthcare and Regulatory Authority for the vaccine.
This approach is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and four UK Chief Medical Officers and is designed to save lives. Analysis carried out by Public Health England suggests that the COVID-19 vaccination programme prevented 6,100 deaths in England up to the end of February 2021.
The Government is in constant contact with the vaccine manufacturers and remains confident that the supply of vaccine to the UK will not be disrupted, and will enable everyone to receive their second dose within 12 weeks of their first.
Asked by: Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of protection one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provides against COVID-19; and what plans they have to publish the evidence base that informs their data on the effectiveness of one such dose.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Since the beginning of the vaccination programme, Public Health England (PHE) has been monitoring the effectiveness of the vaccines in the real world. PHE’s first analysis of the early effects of COVID-19 vaccination in England, using routine testing and vaccination data, was published on 1 March. The data shows effectiveness of a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 reaches approximately 60% in those aged 70 and over in the general population, reaching 85% to 90% after two doses in those aged 80 years and over. The data also shows a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine is 80% and 95% effective at reducing hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19, respectively, in those aged 70 and over. PHE’s latest vaccine effectiveness report can be found attached entitled, ‘Public Health England vaccine effectiveness report March 2021’