The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer might only protect people for 21 days without a second dose, Pfizer said in a statement to Axios.
What’s going on?
Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses in order to achieve 95% efficacy as proven in the Phase 3 trials.
- The company said some protection can start 12 days after the first dose. Still, two doses of the vaccine are needed for the vaccine to work properly.
Why now?
Pfizer’s statement comes as the United Kingdom has considered shifting its vaccine strategy to give people in at-risk groups the first dose of the COVID-19 before giving two doses to people. The idea is to give as many first doses away as possible, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
What about the U.S.?
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Dr. Anthony Fauci recently weighed in on the plan in an interview with “Today.” He said that it’s currently “under consideration” with the United States.
- “You can make an argument, and some people are, about stretching out the doses by giving a single dose across the board, and hoping you’re going to get the second dose in time to give to individuals.”