Spain rejects proposal to delay second vaccine doses, Cadena Ser says

FILE PHOTO: A volunteer and a retired healthcare worker fills a syringe with a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at Sant Pau hospital, in Barcelona, Spain January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will maintain the recommended interval between doses of COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna after health officials rejected a proposal to delay the second dose, Cadena Ser radio reported on Tuesday.

The public health commission considered extending the gap between the shots to maximise the number of people with at least one injection but ultimately decided to maintain the current system, according to Cadena Ser.

The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senior health official Fernando Simon on Monday warned against speculation over potential changes to the vaccine strategy after an official document outlining the proposed delay was leaked to various media.

Spain recommends a 28-day gap between Moderna shots and 21 days between Pfizer, in line with European Medicines Agency guidance.

Despite various supply disruptions, Spain still expects to have half its 47 million population fully inoculated by late July.

So far around 7.2% have received a full course while almost 20% have received at least one dose.

Data released on Tuesday showed Spain’s 14-day infection rate stabilising at around 230 cases per 100,000 people after rising steadily for the past few weeks.

The health ministry reported 7,486 new cases, bringing the total up to 3.44 million, while the death toll climbed by 114 to 77,216.

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