The United States is holding firm to the strategy to administer two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines a few weeks apart.
The Trump administration’s surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, said in a tweet on Tuesday that the good protection available with one shot “is better than great protection for a few.”
Good protection for many (w/ 1 shot) is better than great protection for a few. 2000 people a day are dying because they can’t get a 1st #covid19 shot- not because they can’t get a 2nd…
One dose or two? Fauci says U.S. must stick with two-shot plan. https://t.co/V4iHwtOevV
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) March 2, 2021
However, he later clarified with a second tweet that he wasn’t recommending that it was 100% the way to go, but that it was worth “giving states the flexibility to try it.”
Lots of reporters reaching out about this tweet. I’m not saying it’s 💯 the right way to go. I’m saying there’s enough data/ evidence to suggest it’s not 💯 the wrong way to go- and with 2000 (unvaccinated) people dying a day, it’s worth giving states the flexibility to try it. https://t.co/FZ74coJkQ1
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) March 2, 2021
Although 80.5 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is entering the US supply, demand is still higher than the supply.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that Adams’ tweets were not accounting for the impact of virus variants, which can decrease the amount of protection from vaccines.
“First of all, I love Jerome Adams. He’s really a terrific guy. We worked so well together during the Trump administration,” Fauci said. “I think he’s incorrect on this.”
The mRNA vaccines were authorized for use in the US based on clinical trial data that shows two doses of the vaccines taken a few weeks apart are about 95% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Clinical trials for both vaccines show that the second dose gives a big boost to protective antibodies.
CDC guidelines continue to advise two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and experts at the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on Monday said there’s insufficient scientific evidence to support a vaccination strategy that would delay a second dose or eliminate it altogether.