AQW 12442/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 11/01/2021
Answered On Date: 25/02/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the scientific evidence under which the decision to allow 12 weeks rather than three weeks between doses of the vaccine is based.

Answer:

Vaccination policy in Northern Ireland is based on the recommendations and advice provided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises the 4 UK Health Ministers.

JCVI have advised that the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be given between 3 to 12 weeks following the first dose, and that the second dose of the AstraZeneca (Oxford) vaccine may be given between 4 to 12 weeks following the first dose.

JCVI recommended that delivering a first dose to as many individuals as possible should be prioritised over delivery of a second vaccine dose in order to maximise the short term impact of the program.