To help unleash the logjam of Americans waiting for vaccines, some lawmakers are suggesting at least delivering one dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to get some immunity to the masses.
But government officials are skeptical and pushing back.
“It is essential that these vaccines be used as authorized by FDA in order to prevent COVID-19 and related hospitalizations and death,” Food and Drug Administration Vaccine Director Peter Marks told The Wall Street Journal.
Getting at least one shot of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would permit at least some measure of immunity, potentially getting twice as many Americans vaccinated in the short term, the reasoning goes.
“Last week, the U.S. passed a sobering milestone of over 500,000 deaths related to COVID-19,” a March 2 letter from Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Gregory F. Murphy, R-N.C. to acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran read, per the report. “These are staggering statistics, and anything we can do to help prevent further tragedy — to further protect the public health and safety of the American people — should be fully employed.”
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the third to get emergency-use authorization from the FDA, is a one-shot vaccine by design, but Pfizer and Moderna requires boosters to get efficacy up over 90% in clinical trials.
While the single shot EUA might offer short-term protection, longer term protection might be compromised, Biden administration advisers fear, per the Journal.
“You would be flying blind to just use one dose,” one told the paper. “If you’re going to do something else other than follow the studies shown to the FDA, show me that this one-shot effect is durable.”
Also, with a third vaccine now being distributed, Americans should be less in waiting for their vaccination.
“We’re going to have a good supply of vaccines very soon,” a government doctor told the Journal.
Source: Newmax
