Medics: Stop making us jab guinea pigs...
NHS heroes have blasted the Government for using them as “guinea pigs” by denying them an early booster vaccine.
Doctors, nurses and paramedics fighting Covid must wait three months like the rest of us for a second jab – instead of the three weeks recommended after manufacturer trials.
But calls are growing for frontline heroes to get the booster within the 21 days vaccine maker Pfizer deems vital for best protection.
The UK’s chief medical officers recommended the 12-week gap so more of the population can get some immunity from the first jab.
Currently, the NHS is under severe strain with record numbers of Covid patients.
Almost 100,000 staff were also off sick last week – half of whom have been infected with the virus or forced to self-isolate.
Dr Claudia Paoloni, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said: “Vulnerable hospital staff are being made guinea pigs in an involuntary clinical trial. We are out there caring for the nation every day and running a high risk of infection.
“There is no science behind the decision to extend the time interval from three weeks to 12. It is vital the front line is properly protected.”
Pfizer says the first jab gives 52% immunity, rising to 95% with a booster 21 days later, while UK tests say the first dose offers 89% immunity. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 64.1% effective after one dose.
The British Medical Association has called for frontline staff to receive their second dose of the Pfizer jab 21 days after the first, after two NHS nurses reportedly caught Covid after receiving their first injections.
Healthcare workers are believed to be 12 times more likely to be infected than anyone else. One junior doctor at a South East hospital said every shift “feels like Russian roulette”.
A medic at the Manchester Foundation Trust said there was “uproar” when staff were told of the 12-week wait. It came after GPs claimed they were told to dump leftover jabs rather than give them to staff or patients as boosters. Pfizer jabs have a short shelf life once defrosted.
BMA chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “This is morally wrong. The BMA is already calling for health and social care workers to receive second doses as soon as possible.”
NHS England said that if appointment lists were well managed, there would be no need to bin doses. But Dr Julia Patterson, founder of the Every Doctor campaign to protect NHS workers, said staff at six workplaces had been told to do just that.
Dr Robert Morley, of the Birmingham Local Medical Committee, told how vaccines were thrown away after a “strong decree” from NHS England not to give second doses.
Meanwhile Dr Rebecca Lewis, of Doctors Association UK, said of the “guinea pigs” uproar: “Frontline staff risk their lives every day in ever-worsening conditions. But it seems the Government has not taken this sacrifice into account in its vaccine delivery plans.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised we should prioritise giving as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing two doses in as short a time as possible.”