It’s better to give two grandparents 89% protection than to give one 95% – and the other none at all

LAST week, the UK became the first country i n the world to authorise the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and this week we’ll be the first to start using it to inoculate people against Covid-19 – having already given more than a million people an initial first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Deploying this second vaccine is another huge achievement for science and public health in the global effort to tackle Covid-19.

The hard work of the researchers and scientists, and the selflessness of volunteers throughout months of rigorous clinical trials, will soon begin to save lives.

The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that at this stage of the pandemic, the priority should be to deliver first vaccine doses to as many people on the Phase 1 priority list in the shortest possible timeframe – and myself and the UK’s four Chief Medical Officers agree with that recommendation.

It means across the UK, the NHS will now prioritise giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups, with a second dose due to be administered within 12 weeks of the first.

The flexibility to extend the time period between the two doses was a critical decision, made by the regulator – and one which allows us to save more lives, based on the latest advice from the independent experts of the JCVI. Their analysis shows the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 89 per cent effective against preventing Covid-19 in the period from 15 to 21 days after the first dose.

Science experts know that if you have protection as high as 89 per cent on Day 21, it is not really possible that this would have declined by much after just 84 days, or 12 weeks. If a vaccine is that good, antibody levels simply don’t drop away that fast.

The evidence clearly shows vaccinated individuals get almost complete protection after the first dose.

Simply put, every time we vaccinate someone a second time, we are not vaccinating someone else for the first time. It means we are missing an opportunity to greatly reduce the chances of the most vulnerable people getting severely ill from Covid-19.

If a family has two elderly grandparents and there are two vaccines available, it is better to give both 89 per cent protection than to give one 95 per cent protection with two quick doses, and the other grandparent no protection at all.

The virus is unfortunately spreading fast, and this is a race against time. My mum, as well as you or your older loved ones, may be affected by this decision, but it is still the right thing to do for the nation as a whole.

The UK has taken action to secure as many vaccine doses as possible with early access to 357 million doses of seven of the most promising vaccines so far. We have 530,000 quality-checked doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca available in the UK from tomorrow, with more available this month and tens of millions by the end of March.

But we know there is global pressure on the supply of all of these

Thevirus is spreading fast – this is a race against time

This is the way we save the most lives – it is as simple as that

vaccines. So by prioritising the first dose, we can give more people a high level of protection sooner, without compromising their immunity in the longer term. This is the way we save the most lives and avoid the most hospital admissions – it is as simple as that.

This is especially vital at the moment, given the high levels of infection we are seeing in the midst of the most difficult time of year for our NHS.

Those working on wards in the last week will know how serious this is, and how it is right we prioritise giving protection to as many people who need it as possible.

I understand this decision may cause some inconvenience and worry for those who had their second doses booked in but I can assure all Mail on Sunday readers that we have not taken it lightly.

We have to do the best we can, with what we have now, to protect the largest number of vulnerable people in the shortest possible time.

The decision we have taken will literally double the number of people who are protected over the next few crucial months.