Professor Figueroa: No Issue Administering Second Doses Early

Consultant Epidemiologist Professor Peter Figueroa is expressing disappointment, following the expiration of thousands of the AstraZeneca vaccine recently.

He says it would have been better if the Government had issued vials to private practitioners for inoculation of their patients. Additionally, he notes that there is absolutely no problem administering second doses a few days earlier than scheduled.

The scheduled dates for second doses of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine are for eight weeks after the first dose is administered. Professor Peter Figueroa says the immune response tends to be stronger the longer the interval between doses.

Professor Figueroa, says in an instance where vaccines are slated to expire and there are people due for their second dose, there should be no problem in giving it a week or two before the scheduled date. He noted that this would still give a good immune response. Without being specific, he referenced another brand of vaccine that has recently received approval for an extension of a batch for another three months.

He noted that it is quite possible that these vaccines are still fully active despite reaching the expiry date. He noted that it would have been better to let the country ]know at least two weeks before the vaccine expiration to encourage persons to come out for their COVID-19 jab.

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