Because it’s not an experiment when JCVI group has years of vaccine roll-out experience and know-how, their modified plan has obviously worked as the groups 1-9 were covered far quicker with the resultant lives saved (estimated at 10k) you only have to look at Europe to see what a slow/low uptake has done. Take Poland for example, their death rate per million ended up above that of the U.K and cases per 100k were above 500 (and likely higher due to low resting rate) for far too long.Why keep adding unnecessary complications/ unknowns when it's already perforce a big experimento.
Similar mistakes to the U.K with Christmas and Easter easing due to pressure from the church.
If their vaccine plan mimicked that of the U.K. thousands of lives would have been saved.
(As an aside, the Pfizer MD would never sanction anything that’s not been tested by themselves, that’s how pharma works and what’s written on ‘the label’ is akin to the tablets with the Ten Commandments on, deviate from that or suggest “off label” use and you get fined. They have been bitten by that before and had to pay literally billions out as a result)
As for the 8 week shortening gap for the 50+? Well they are mostly AZ so no issue on efficacy change from losing 4 weeks of the gap, and the fact that it’s actually not a huge amount of people as anyone over 55 has already likely had their second jab plus some of the 50-55 group so it’s only a couple of million if that so a few days worth of arm jabbing. It’s more a PR thing to give a sense of urgency to those that haven’t got round to it or are hesitant.
Not worth all the hand wringing over it IMHO.