The Public Health Commission, in which the autonomous communities and the Ministry of Health are represented, has decided to postpone the decision on the administration of the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca in those under 60 years of age, pending the results of the study by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) on the safety and efficacy of putting a dose of Pfizer in its place.
In the same way, and in line with this decision, the Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities have agreed to extend the interval between the first and second doses of AstraZeneca for those under 60 years of age who have already received the first, from 12 to 16 weeks, as other countries such as Ireland have done. Thus, the decision is postponed for a month.
"Extending the interval will allow us to have more information to make a decision that guarantees the safety of vaccination, taking into account the best available knowledge," explains the Ministry of Health in a statement, appealing to the "precautionary principle."
Thus, the Ministry justifies that "it will be possible to review the pharmacovigilance data that is published on the use of the second dose of AstraZeneca in this age group and the new evidence on the use of a different vaccine for those who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca." In addition, it adds that "the results of the dose interchangeability study of the University of Oxford and other clinical trials such as the one that has been initiated in Spain by the ISCIII will be available."
