July 23, 2021

PITCH study – Antibody and cellular immune responses after two different dosing schedules of the Pfizer vaccine

The UK policy on the dosing regimen for COVID-19 vaccines has varied during the vaccination programme with the interval between the first and second dose extended from 3-4 weeks to up to 12 weeks and then back down to 8 weeks. There is some debate currently about if this interval could be shortened further.

A new preprint from the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium assesses the antibody and cellular immune responses in a cohort of UK healthcare workers vaccinated with 2 doses of the Pfizer/BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and compares how these change following either a ‘short’ (3-4 weeks) or ‘long’ (6-14 weeks) interval between two doses.

Please note this data is a preprint, so it is early work that has not yet been through peer-review and is not published in a journal.

Journalists dialled in to hear the study investigators present their results and answer any questions.

Speakers will included:

Dr Rebecca Payne, Newcastle University – lead 1st author

Prof Susanna Duanchie, University of Oxford – Study Joint Chief Investigator

Dr Lance Turtle, University of Liverpool – specialist T cell studies

Prof Miles Carroll, University of Oxford – antibody studies

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.