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– As vaccination numbers in the US are way behind schedule, health authorities are looking into a number of options to increase the numbers. One is to halve the dose of the Moderna vaccine to expand supplies, a proposal the FDA is expected to consider this week. But like the New York Times According to reports, another controversial proposal is in circulation, one that calls for delaying the second shot – the “booster” shot – so that more people can get their first shot. Three vaccines now in use around the world, those from Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are calling on people to get a second dose about three or four weeks later, according to The Hill. But proponents say pushing back that timeline would allow more people to have their first chance and get at least some measure of protection. Not everyone, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, agrees.
“I wouldn’t be in favor of that,” he said last week, adding on Sunday that the strategy “goes against science,” CNBC reports. There isn’t enough data to support the idea that the plan is safe, Fauci says. But in one Washington Post Two health officials claim it makes sense to delay the second shot. Cases are on the rise and supplies are limited, and something needs to be added, write Robert Wachter of the University of California at San Francisco and Ashish Jha of Brown University. Yes, the data is not complete, but what we do have is “reassuring,” they write. “In a perfect world there would be no compromises. But if 2020 taught us anything, it is that we don’t live in a perfect world.” The UK has opted to delay the second shot, The Hill notes. About 4 million Americans have been vaccinated, well below the goal of more than 20 million. (Read more stories about coronavirus vaccines.)