Senior doctors in Wales warn a delayed gap between the first and second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine would be "entirely unacceptable and potentially dangerous".

The British Medical Association Wales (BMA Cymru) has joined calls for the 12-week wait to be halved.

It comes as a pilot started in three communities, aiming to vaccinate thousands of people this weekend.

The Welsh Government said "significant progress" had been made.

Dr David Bailey, chairman of the BMA's Welsh Council, said doctors in Wales "remain extremely concerned" by the Welsh Government's decision for a maximum of 12 weeks between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

He said it was known the second dose provided an "excellent amount of protection" when given after three weeks but there was no evidence about how effective a second dose will be after 12 weeks.

He added: "In fact, there is worrying news from Israel which suggests that a delayed second dose may give less protection.

"This is entirely unacceptable and potentially dangerous for both staff and patients."

BMA Cymru called for all front-line healthcare staff to be given "the maximum protection possible so that they are safe to treat patients in the NHS".

"It should be clear to Welsh Government that this means giving both doses of the vaccine within the time period specified by the manufacturers," said Dr Bailey.

He added that no other European country was following the same strategy as the UK and that the BMA's position was supported by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency.

"Welsh Government, along with Scotland and England, are clearly swimming against the tide and must urgently return to the approved timeframe for the second Pfizer dose so that we can reduce the stress on the NHS and fight the pandemic," he said.

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