Britain: “The country should give vaccines to countries that do not have them, instead of giving a boost”

The boosting doses of vaccines against covid-19 are not yet necessary and vaccines should be given to countries that do not have them, said today the head of the Oxford vaccine team Andrew Pollard, contradicting the opinion of the British Minister of Health.

Pollard said the decision to administer the booster dose should be based on scientific studies, adding that there was no evidence of an increase in deaths or serious illness among those vaccinated against covid-19.

«There is no reason to panic right now. We do not see any problem with an increase in serious illness“, Pointed out Pollard during an online briefing of deputies.

«If there is a reduction in protection, this is something that will happen gradually and it will happen at some point that we will detect it and be able to deal with it.“, He added.

Britain is already planning a boost for a third dose of covid-19 vaccine, with Health Minister Sazid Javid saying it expects it to begin in early September, pending final expert advice.

AstraZeneca, which developed a vaccine against covid-19 in collaboration with the University of Oxford, has said it needs more time to assess whether a booster dose is needed to maintain protection against covid-19.

Pfizer, on the other hand, has indicated that it estimates that a third, repeat dose will be needed to maintain high levels of protection.

Britain has given two doses of the covid-19 vaccine to three-quarters of the country’s adults, and the World Health Organization has urged countries planning a booster dose to delay until more people around the world have been vaccinated.

Pollard noted that vaccine stocks would be better used to protect vulnerable people in other countries.

“Doses that are available and could be used to vaccinate children or give boosters would be better given to people who die in the next six months instead of the very unlikely scenario of a sudden collapse of programs in countries with high vaccination rates“, He underlined.

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