The Isle of Man is to continue to take a different approach to the UK in administering the second Covid-19 vaccinations.

In the UK policy changed. Scientists and medics there decided that the 21- and 28-day interval for the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines respectively, could safely be extended to up to 12 weeks.

The UK extended the timescale for second doses of the vaccine against a backdrop of rising case numbers, severe pressure on hospitals, and deaths.

But health chiefs in the Isle of Man have decided to stick with the original advice from the drugs firms.

Health Minister David Ashford said: ’The recommendation to maintain the 21- and 28-day intervals between jabs is the best solution for the Isle of Man.

’There is no clinical reason for us to diverge from that position. It is true we could vaccinate a greater number of people in a shorter period of time if we changed tack, but our circumstances are not the same as those in the UK, where the gravity of the situation requires getting vaccine into the arms of as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

’The two doses offer fuller protection and our focus is on delivering them.’