NZ increases gap between COVID-19 vaccine doses

The Health Ministry in New Zealand has announced that the time between doses of the COVID-19 vaccine is being increased in the country. The standard time will become six weeks between the first and second doses of the vaccine. Moving to a longer gap is intended to allow the country to give the first dose to a larger number of people faster, which means providing more people with partial protection sooner. This is an important part of the country’s strategy of being prepared for a possible outbreak of the more infectious Delta variant of the virus. Early findings from a small number of well-designed studies show that an extended duration between doses of the Pfizer vaccine gives at least an equally robust immune response, with no additional safety concerns. This new guidance is in line with other international programmes using the Pfizer vaccine. For example, the interval between doses in Denmark and Norway ranges between six and 12 weeks, while the United States uses three weeks but allows up to six weeks.