But as researchers looked at the results, they found that the delay turned out to have another major benefit. “The bigger the gap you can leave between vaccines the better the immune response”, Cambridge University consultant clinical virologist Dr Chris Smith told RNZ. “Twelve weeks was de rigueur.” Same message from a June 2021 study from the University of Birmingham and Public Health England: “Antibody response in people aged over 80 is three-and-a-half times greater in those who have the second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine after 12 weeks compared to those who have it at a three-week interval.” “Data from clinical trials shows that the efficacy was higher when the second dose was given at, or after 12 weeks.”
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The airwaves have been awash with news about COVID-19 and vaccinations, much of it unhelpful. Amid the heat, my name has arisen as the immunologist cited by the Liberal MP Craig Kelly, whose views have been widely derided and, ultimately, shut down by the Prime Minister.
Let me state clearly from the outset: vaccines are critical; they will save lives; we should all get behind them.
Liberal MP Craig Kelly during Question Time.
Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Vaccines, however, do have limitations. They need to be paired with effective, safe drug treatment. I believe two candidates are safe, cheap, available and effective. They are ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Australian health authorities, however, say there is not enough evidence to support their use in the treatment of COVID-19. I disagree with them.