“Good protection for many (with 1 injection) is better than optimal protection for some. 2,000 people a day die because they can’t get a first # covid19 injection – not because they can’t get a second one,” Adams wrote in a
Twitter topic. In another tweet, Adams wrote: “Distribute all doses NOW and start production!”
Adams included a link to an article published by The Washington Post on Monday, in which Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the Biden government, said the United States should adhere to a two-dose regimen for the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Fauci told the newspaper that there were “risks on both sides” of switching to a single dose or taking both.
“We are telling people [two shots] is what you should do … and then we say, ‘Oops, we changed our minds’? “said the disease specialist.” I think it would be a messaging challenge, to say the least. “
On Tuesday, Adams sought to clarify his comments.
“I’m not saying it is [100 emoji] the right way to go. I am saying that there is enough data / evidence to suggest that there is [100 emoji] the wrong way to go – and with 2,000 (unvaccinated) people dying each day, it’s worth giving states the flexibility to experiment, ”
tweeted.
Amid the low supply of vaccine, several experts have advocated postponing the second dose in favor of giving the first dose to more people, and some research has suggested a high degree of temporary protection with just one dose. However, the Food and Drug Administration and top American officials have backed off, saying it is unclear how long this protection will last and arguing the need to follow evidence from clinical trials.
During a discussion of vaccines on Monday at the meeting of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, experts said that two doses better protect people against coronavirus variants than a single dose. US health officials are concerned that the spread of more infectious variants could harm the country in its struggle to keep the pandemic in check.
Although the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines have been tested as a two-dose regimen, the UK has postponed second doses to get more first doses to more people more quickly.
Over the weekend, the FDA authorized Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine. The J&J vaccine is also being tested as a two-dose vaccine.
