Despite its slow and unstable initial launch, medical experts are relying on the coronavirus vaccine to help end the global pandemic. This is especially true because strains of highly contagious variants of the virus have been reported in the United States, with experts warning that this could create another increase in cases. But a change by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its stance on a precaution with the vaccine that limits the time between vaccines can help ensure smoother delivery. Read on to see what the new guidelines recommend for your immunization and for more information on what you should know before getting the vaccine, Dr. Fauci has just given this warning about the side effects of the COVID vaccine.
As doses of the coveted immunizations begin to run low in many areas, health officials are becoming concerned that speeding up supplies may mean that patients will not be able to receive their second vital injection in time, which is scheduled to be three to four weeks after the first. But in a statement released to CNN on January 23, the FDA updated its guidance on the time interval between the two doses, saying that a slightly longer wait would not impair the vaccine’s effectiveness.
The agency says it “recognizes that fully immunizing as many people as possible across the country will help to reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 and should be a priority”, specifying that “modest delays in administering The second dose , if absolutely necessary, should not decrease the protection afforded by the second dose and is preferable to not completing the series of 2 doses. “And to learn more about the second injection, Dr. Fauci says he had these side effects from his second dose vaccine.
The FDA is not the only agency to change its guidelines. On January 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their clinical considerations on how long doses could be spaced out, similarly stating that some flexibility at the time of the booster injection was acceptable.
“The second dose should be administered as close as possible to the recommended interval”, says the guide. “However, if it is not feasible to adhere to the recommended interval, the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines can be scheduled for administration within six weeks (42 days) after the first dose,” adding that “currently exist limited data on the efficacy of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines administered beyond this window. “And to learn more about how to slow the spread of coronavirus, find out the one thing you can stop doing to avoid COVID, according to doctors.
The changes come less than a month after the FDA made a strong case against waiting longer than the recommended three weeks between doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or the four weeks required between doses of Moderna due to limited supplies.
“We know that some of these discussions about changing the dosage or dose schedule are based on the belief that changing the dose or dosing schedule can help get more vaccine to the public more quickly,” the agency said in a statement on 4 January. “However, making such changes that are not supported by adequate scientific evidence can ultimately be counterproductive to public health.” And for more up-to-date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
Other leading medical experts supported the decision to allow a longer grace period between doses. That includes Anthony Fauci, MD, chief medical advisor to the White House, who saw no reason to worry about slightly expanding the waiting time.
“Sometimes the situation is accentuated where it is very difficult to get there on time,” Fauci told CNN in an interview on January 22. “I don’t see much of a problem with that if the situation on the ground means that the stress is so great that you can’t do exactly 28 or 21 days.” And if you’re worried about getting sick, this strange symptom may be the only sign that you have COVID, says the study.