Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' leading infectious disease expert, told CNN on Friday that he would "not be in favor" of delaying second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to increase the amount of people who can receive their first injection.
The United Kingdom announced a plan this week that involves stretching the wait time between the first and second shots of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized in the country, including the Pfizer jab, up to 12 weeks. The thinking is that doing so will give more people at least partial protection until production ramps up.
But the trials for Pfizer and Moderna included a three and four week gap, respectively, which means data is only available for that time frame, and Fauci wants the U.S. to stick to what it is known with more certainty rather than follow the U.K.'s lead. Read more at The Guardian and The New York Times.