Isle of Man government urged to follow Guernsey in extending vaccine dose gaps
A POLITICAL party in the Isle of Man is calling on its government to follow Guernsey's lead and extend the time between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccination against Covid-19.
Liberal Vannin chair Paul Weatherall said that the party believes the science has indicated that a delay between the jabs is more effective.
It was announced on Wednesday that Guernsey would be implementing a gap of 10 weeks between the first and second dose, rather than the previous six weeks.
'The Isle of Man Government has been somewhat evasive about following the more recent evidence on this and it is still uncertain as to whether they will announce a policy change at their press briefing this evening,' said Mr Weatherall this afternoon. [Thursday]
He said that as the UK infection rate reduced and people began to look forward to border restrictions perhaps being eased in late spring or early summer, then the more people who have had their first dose the better since they would feel more confident about travelling to see friends and family.
Mr Weatherall said the party had highlighted Guernsey as a comparison was because the Isle of Man's government often compared its handling of the pandemic to what was being done in Guernsey: 'Many people on the island take an interest in Guernsey’s approach, especially since our travel corridor last year,' he said.
Liberal Vannin believed that the Isle of Man's government and its residents had generally dealt with the pandemic well.
'There have been a few poor judgment calls along the way, but the main criticism we have is a lack of transparency and openness about many of the decisions on border restrictions and, latterly, on vaccination policy.'
