‘Merit’ in longer wait for jab two

Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield says Kiwis may be asked to wait eight weeks between Pfizer jabs because it provides more immunity than the three-week gap.

He also said people might need annual Pfizer booster shots, though evidence was still emerging.

It comes as thousands are expected at the first rural mass vaccination event in Taranaki this weekend after one in South Auckland last weekend at which more than 15,500 people got their first dose.

The Taranaki District Health Board hopes to give a first Pfizer jab to 6000 people in Stratford, helping lift the province from the bottom of the vaccination league table.

Recent studies showed an eightweek gap between doses would provide greater immunity, and Bloomfield told the Conference for General Practice in Wellington yesterday the Ministry of Health was looking at it. It’s also considered a way of getting wider immunity coverage sooner, by getting first jabs into more people more quickly.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins had previously said three weeks was Pfizer’s recommendation, adding that a longer wait might see people less inclined to get the second.

Bloomfield said he would speak to senior ministers about a longer break between the two Pfizer doses.

He said the three-week gap was sound and provided effective immunity, but there was “probably some merit in increasing the gap”.

Bloomfield also told the conference there was no suggestion at this stage of a waning of immunity over time for people with two jabs. But he added there may be a need for annual shots to address emerging variants, much like the flu jab constantly evolved.

The mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer, are considered to be easy to adapt as new variants emerge.

Hipkins said this week the Government was in talks with Pfizer about supplies for next year, but no purchase agreement had been signed.

Meanwhile, the ministry confirmed there were two Covid-19 positive patients in Auckland hospitals after a patient was transferred from the Jet Park quarantine facility to Auckland City Hospital on Thursday afternoon.

A PPE-use breach during the transfer of the Jet Park patient led to a health worker being classified as a casual contact and asked to monitor symptoms. The ministry said a review of the use of personal protective equipment by the worker did not “fully meet agreed protocols”.

The UN worker from Fiji was the other case and remained in Middlemore Hospital ICU.

Health officials also revealed two people newly arrived in the country were taken from Auckland Airport and transferred straight to Middlemore Hospital this week. Counties Manukau District Health Board said the two did not have Covid but were admitted for medical reasons.

Any patient from the airport accepted by the hospital, regardless of the reason, was considered Covidexposed and subject to the same rigorous infection prevention and control measures as a patient with the virus.

The ministry announced one new Covid case in managed isolation yesterday in Auckland.