VACCINE ROLLOUT TIMELINE TRIAL
4 that in the phase 3 trials, 98% of participants in the Pfizer trial and 92% of participants in the Moderna trial received two doses of the vaccines at the respective three- or four-week interval. "Generally, with most vaccines, if you space doses out longer, the vaccine actually works better," Gill said, adding that "we only know that in other vaccines that’s true."ĭata from the Pfizer and Moderna clinical trials indicate that the vaccines achieved about 90% efficacy after the first dose, and their efficacy increased to 95% after the second dose, Gill said. But with vaccines for other diseases, a longer interval between doses doesn’t necessarily diminish the vaccine’s effectiveness, said Christopher Gill, an associate professor of global health at Boston University’s School of Public Health. There is still a lot that’s unknown about the COVID-19 vaccines. The goal is to get people their second dose at the 21- or 28-day mark - depending on which vaccine they’ve received - because that’s how the studies demonstrating their effectiveness were conducted, he said. What if someone doesn’t get a second dose at the expected 21- or 28-day interval?īased on the science and evidence from the vaccines’ clinical trials, "it is imperative that people receive their second doses on time," Azar said. Here’s what we know at this point about the vaccine distribution plans. About a week before Azar’s announcement, the FDA cautioned against changes to the FDA-authorized dosing or schedules of the vaccines. The change doesn’t affect the government’s recommendations about vaccine administration. 20, aiming to get more Americans vaccinated as soon as possible.Īzar said that it had always been the Trump administration’s intent to make the strategy change once officials had confidence in the supply chains. The new vaccine rollout strategy falls in line with the plan President-elect Joe Biden said he’d put in place once he takes office Jan. The two Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine doses are to be given 21 days apart, and the two Moderna vaccine doses 28 days apart. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization require two shots. The two COVID-19 vaccines that have received the U.S. "We are 100% committed to ensuring a second dose is available for every American who receives a first dose."
VACCINE ROLLOUT TIMELINE FULL
"We are now making the full reserve of doses we have available for order," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Jan. As the United States continues to set daily record highs for COVID-19 cases and deaths, the Trump administration is embracing a new vaccine distribution strategy: Give states all available doses instead of holding back supply reserved for second doses.