Credit: State of Minnesota
Vaccinating so many Minnesotans as quickly as possible has been hampered by a limited supply of doses from the federal government, which is why some medical experts are recommending to postpone the second dose of the vaccine.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Disease Research and Policy, is among experts who believe that postponing the second dose would help vaccinate more vulnerable populations in a timely manner.
There are three approved vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca – and they all require two doses to achieve full vaccine effectiveness. A quarter, from Johnson & Johnson, requires only one dose, but has not yet been approved.
However, Osterholm says that the first dose provides sufficient protection in the short term to justify delaying the second doses and using them to provide a first dose to more of Minnesota’s 65-year-olds or older.
“I think the data will support that this is, in fact, a very effective way of doing things,” Osterholm told the Minnesota House Health Policy and Finance Committee.
Osterholm said the first dose provides “remarkable protection” that may even improve over time. He recalled that a recent study involving the AstraZeneca vaccine showed that a single dose provided the same level of protection for the first 90 days, in addition to maintaining the level of antibodies for at least 90 days.
“We have every reason to believe that, over time, this can become even more effective,” said Osterholm.
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As of February 2, Minnesota has given 475,200 people at least one dose of the vaccine. Of these, 177,632 were people aged 65 and over.
Osterholm, who serves on the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 advisory committee, said that new variants, namely the B.1.1.7 strain first confirmed in the UK, pose a major threat to America in the coming months.
“I think the darkest days of the pandemic are yet to come,” he said.
Osterholm has consistently said that he expects the strain to become dominant and wreak havoc in the United States sometime in the next six to 14 weeks, which is why providing one dose instead of two doses would give the most vulnerable populations in Minnesota the chance to have some level of protection against none if the virus arises again.