Walgreens will begin scheduling doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine three weeks apart, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), following customer complaints.
The U.S. pharmacy chain has so far put the photos apart four weeks, a week more than recommended, as the extended schedule made it quicker and easier to schedule appointments, The New York Times reported Monday.
Beginning at the end of the week, Walgreens’ vaccine planning system will begin spacing shots three weeks apart, maintaining the four week recommended period for Moderna’s proprietary vaccine.
Kevin Ban, Walgreens’ chief medical officer, had previously said that separating the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines during the same period was “the easiest way to stand up to the trial based on our capabilities at the time.”
Other major pharmacy chains such as CVS and Rite Aid had followed the CDC’s guidelines on vaccine spacing, the Times notes, with Pfizer shots spaced about 20 to 23 days apart.
The paper reports there is no evidence to suggest that an extra week reduces the vaccine’s effectiveness, and the CDC has said it’s okay to keep doses apart as much as six weeks.
However, CDC spokesman Kate Grusich told the Times that Walgreens’ scheduling decision still confused his clients and caught the attention of federal health officials.
According to Walgreens, it has administered more than 8 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to date and expects to deliver between 26 and 34 million doses by the end of August.