Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of data from Israel on the effectiveness of the single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and of their decision to delay giving a second vaccine dose to people for up to 12 weeks.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has reviewed headline data from Israel on vaccine effect, particularly the vaccine effectiveness estimate at day 14 after the first dose. The JCVI concluded that the results are preliminary and there is a need for greater clarity, including full information on the data used, before further consideration or comment. The JCVI will review this data carefully once the full study details are released.

The JCVI continues to recommend that as many people on the JCVI priority list as possible should be offered a first vaccine dose as the initial priority. One dose of the vaccine offers important protection until the second dose can be administered. All individuals will subsequently receive a second dose in due course.