NEW YORK: The U.S. government is considering half the dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to speed up vaccinations, a federal official said Sunday (Jan. 3).
Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccination program, told CBS ‘Face the Nation that officials were in talks with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration about the idea. The Moderna vaccine requires two injections.
“We know for the Moderna vaccine, giving people between the ages of 18 and 55 half the dose, two doses, half the dose, which means achieving the goal of doubling the vaccine the number of people with our doses, “Slaoui said.
“We know it stimulates an equivalent immune response” to the full dose, he said.
Moderna and the FDA could not be immediately reached for comment.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had delivered 4,225,756 initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and dispensed 13,071,925 doses.
The US has also received a vaccine from Pfizer, which is similar to two Moderna models. Vaccines have fallen far short of early targets, as officials hoped 20 million people would have been vaccinated by the end of 2020.
Slaoui said he was hopeful vaccinations would continue to accelerate. He rejected the suggestion that officials should prioritize giving one view to more people, rather than withholding doses for a second view, saying cutting vaccine doses was a priority. Moderna in half “a more accountable approach based on facts and data.”
Slaoui said it would be unlikely that we would know until the end of spring whether people with vaccines can spread the disease to others.
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