Dr. Yaffa Shir Raz
Dr. Yaffa Shir RazCourtesy

Health Communication Lecturer at IDC Herzliya International School Dr. Yaffa Shir Raz today responded to vaccination policy in Israel and some European countries in light of the Pfizer corporation's statement that there is no evidence their vaccine is effective beyond 21 days after the first dose.

Shir Raz wrote: "Following the UK, both Germany and Denmark are now considering delaying the second dose. The official argument: To vaccinate more people with the first dose.

"Here in Israel, too, Grotto announced yesterday there is reason to believe that the first dose provides good protection for at least a few months, so he proposes postponing the second dose to accelerate the number of vaccinated receiving one dose.

"However, contrary to this statement, Pfizer itself claims that 'there is no evidence that the vaccine is effective beyond 21 days after the first dose.'

"I went back to the FDA report on Pfizer's vaccine from December 10th to see what was written there about the issue, and indeed, it turns out that this is what the data say: 'Based on the number of cumulative cases after dose 1 and before dose 2, there seems to be some protection against COVID-19 disease following a single dose; However, these data do not provide information on long-term protection beyond 21 days after a single dose.'

"So on what basis do Grotto and his colleagues in the UK, Germany, and Denmark argue that one dose can provide protection for several months?"