It is possible to delay the second dose of the Moderna and Pfizer anti-covid vaccines but the interval should not exceed 42 days. This is the opinion of the Italian drug agency Aifa. “Having assessed the request received by the extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid-19 emergency regarding the possibility of extending the time interval between the first and second administration of mRna vaccines, the CTS” of the Italian Medicines Agency Aifa “reiterates that the optimal interval between doses is 21 days for the Comirnaty vaccine and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine, respectively. ” But “should it nevertheless be necessary to postpone the second dose by a few days”, the Commission specifies that “it is not possible in any case to exceed the 42-day interval for both vaccines”, writes the technical-scientific commission of the regulatory body in an opinion attached to the new circular of the Ministry of Health on anti-Covid vaccination.
The Technical Scientific Commission of the Italian Medicines Agency Aifa reiterates that in any case “to obtain optimal protection it is necessary to complete the vaccination cycle with the second dose”.
In these days in which we are discussing how to optimize the management of the doses available to speed up the immunization campaign, there has been repeated talk of the opportunity to delay the second dose of these vaccines. The president of the Higher Health Council (Css), Franco Locatelli, spoke about it, explaining that the issue of the distancing between doses was also addressed in the last session of the Technical-Scientific Committee. And the general director of Prevention of the Ministry of Health, Gianni Rezza, who yesterday spoke of possible “flexibility” in recalls.
The Cts of Aifa in the opinion acquired by the ministry recalls what is indicated in the summary of product characteristics (Rcp) of the 2 mRna vaccines, also reiterating that “to obtain optimal protection it is necessary to complete the vaccination cycle with the second dose”.