Second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine after three months

The second dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be administered three months after the first dose.

This decision was confirmed by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (above) on Twitter.

"Dosing interval for the AstraZeneca vaccine in the opt-in programme is set at 12 weeks.

"This is in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations and is the current practice in the United Kingdom," he said.

However, Khairy said those who have valid reasons to request for a shorter interval, such as students going abroad, may put in an application for review.

The WHO recommends the interval between the first and second dose of Covid-19 vaccines to be within four to 12 weeks.

The second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, for example, is administered after three weeks from the first dose.

In the case of AstraZeneca, research has shown that its efficacy is significantly improved when the second dose is administered later than earlier.

An analysis published in The Lancet in March found that the efficacy is 55.1 percent when the doses were administered less than six weeks apart.

However, the AstraZeneca vaccine's efficacy improves up to 81.3 percent when administered 12 or more weeks apart.

Delaying the second dose is also a strategy used in several countries to get the first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible within the shortest time.

For the AstraZeneca vaccine, having one dose is associated with reduced Covid-19 transmission, hospitalisation, and death for the period three to 12 weeks after the vaccination.

Yesterday, Khairy said the vaccination interval will be decided based on efficacy, logistics, and the current Covid-19 situation in the country.

Today's decision was made at a meeting this morning.

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