Germany was weighing on Monday whether to allow a delay in administering a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer to make scarce supplies go further, after a similar move by Britain last week.

Separately, Denmark approved on Monday a delay of up to six weeks between the first and second shots of the vaccine.

In Berlin, the health ministry was seeking the view of an independent vaccination commission on whether to delay a second shot beyond a current 42-day maximum limit, according to a one-page document seen by Reuters on Monday.

The move came amid criticism of Health Minister Jens Spahn - including from his conservative political allies - that Germany has failed to procure enough vaccines and been too slow to ramp up its nationwide inoculation campaign.

Some German health experts have welcomed Britain's move to delay administering a second dose of the BioNTech/Pfizer shot, which comes as governments try to provide protection against coronavirus to as many people as possible by giving them one shot and delaying a second.

"In view of the current scarcity of vaccines and the very high numbers of infections and hospitalisations (in Germany), a strategy in which as many people as possible are vaccinated as early as possible is more effective," said Leif-Erik Sander, head of the vaccine research team at Berlin's Charité hospital.

According to the latest daily update from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany has vaccinated around 239,000 people since starting its campaign on Dec. 27 - well short of the 1.3 million doses that were delivered by the end of 2020.

(With input from agencies)