12-30-2020, 08:39 AM
This seems a bit reckless to me. The clinical trials performed so far had a specific protocol for the second dose. Why bother with a trial if you aren't going to use that protocol for administration? No way in the world the FDA would go along with such a thing IMHO. Astra Zeneca is still running their trial in the USA and has not even attempted to get an EUA in the US with the results they have from their previous trials because they (correctly I think) believe it would not be granted. Hopefully their USA results are more useful to them.
It may well be that the change in protocol will not affect the results in immunity, but we don't know that. If it "works", that will be great, but if it doesn't work very well, imagine the reaction of the public when people who have received the vaccine get sick in large numbers. Confidence in such a treatment will plummet. The AZ vaccine had not so great efficacy in the trial they actually did complete. The results of this new protocol may not be even as good. That said, if the UK is much more efficient at getting vaccine into arms than we have been here in the USA, they may get better results faster than we do.. Still a gamble I think.
It may well be that the change in protocol will not affect the results in immunity, but we don't know that. If it "works", that will be great, but if it doesn't work very well, imagine the reaction of the public when people who have received the vaccine get sick in large numbers. Confidence in such a treatment will plummet. The AZ vaccine had not so great efficacy in the trial they actually did complete. The results of this new protocol may not be even as good. That said, if the UK is much more efficient at getting vaccine into arms than we have been here in the USA, they may get better results faster than we do.. Still a gamble I think.