No one, but its been reported many have been unable to get their second dose at exactly 3 weeks at the same venue as their first dose, because walks in had to make second booking in a separate transition from the first.
Yes but you keep trotting out the extended interval well after it actually is no longer occurring. Not that it actually happened in terms of making bookings for more than a day or so, and not that it was actually 6 weeks anyway. The 6 weeks was just the authorities stating that you did not have to panic as you actually had a 6 week window if required.
There was a brief delay from the surge plus the new State Hub Online Booking system being launched (The GP Online Booking system was previously already running).
Melbourne Exhibition Hub had a brief delay. 3km away at Royal Exhibition Hub there was no delay.
The ability to book at 3 weeks at more sites was soon resolved. Anyone who had booked a longer interval could change if they wanted too.
There is ample capacity to book second doses at 3 weeks if they wish it. Indeed there are empty slots and has been for some time for second doses.
However the advice remains that you do not need to get your second Pfizer dose at least 21 days apart.
Perhaps you could site the evidence for this claim across the board for all ages? Because the original UK study that talked about longer gaps only made this recommendation for the older cohort (65+) who generally have weaker immune systems, and did not include data for the under 50s.
For all ages? I made no such claim and as far as I am aware
Pfizer is still not recommended for all ages.
The study that you may be referring to only looked at people older than 80 as that was the cohort it was studying., and it was to assess the affect on that age group the following the UK having for a time implemented a delayed second dose period. So it made no recommendations for younger people than that as they were not part of the study.
To determine whether the delay paid off, Amirthalingam and her colleagues studied 175 vaccine recipients older than 80 who received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine either 3 weeks or 11–12 weeks after the first dose.
Most of the research revolves around the 21 days gap as that was the original Pizer Clinical Trial period. However in discussion on longer periods including in Canada where like the UK they have implemented at times longer periods between first and second doses when overall supply was low when had rampant virus spread, they have referred to a longer gap than 21 days as being likely to achieve better longterm immunity response. And similar references have been made elsewhere. However mostly they will stick to what Pfizer based their trials on, as to replicate those trials would be an expensive exercise.
In Australia while virtually everyone will have had Pfizer second doses at about 3 weeks including in Victoria the range allowed is upto 6 weeks, and longer periods can be considered.
| Guidance on interval between doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine |
Recommendations
The second dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine should be administered at least 21 days after the first dose
The second dose can be routinely scheduled at any time between 21 days and 42 days (between 3 and 6 weeks) after the first dose
If epidemiological or operational considerations make administration within 42 days difficult, scheduling administration of the second dose up to 84 days (12 weeks) after the first dose can be considered
Even if the second dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is administered later than 84 days (12 weeks) after the first dose, no doses need to be repeated
Australian guidance
The TGA-approved Product Information for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine recommends the two doses in a course should be spaced by at least 21 days[1]
The ATAGI Clinical Guidance on the use of COVID-19 vaccine in Australia in 2021 recommends that the two-dose course is completed within 6 weeks (42 days).[2]
The ATAGI Clinical Guidance also notes that longer intervals between the first and second doses may need to be recommended if warranted by epidemiological considerations, and that if the second dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is administered later than the recommended interval, no doses need to be repeated.2
[1] Australian Product Information – Comirnaty, TGA.
[2] Clinical guidance on use of COVID-19 vaccine in Australia in 2021, ATAGI.
