Vaccine schedule in the spotlight as UK ramps up distribution

Days after the UK government announced it would alter the schedule for the country’s coronavirus vaccine program, healthcare experts continue to debate the wisdom of deviating from the approved timeline.

Last week, the UK medicines regulator became the first authority to approve the AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) and Oxford University vaccine for emergency use, with a second dose OK’d for delivery “between 4 and 12 weeks after the first.”

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also said that, based on the data it had reviewed, the Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (Nasdaq: BNTX) vaccine, BNT162b2, should be given in doses spaced “at least 3 weeks” apart.