Facing backlash for a slow vaccine rollout, U.S. officials could alter their strategy to speed inoculations.
Over the weekend, Operation Warp Speed’s chief advisor, Moncef Slaoui, said that the government is in talks with Moderna about changing the regimen for the company’s vaccine to half doses. According to Slaoui, there is evidence suggesting that two half doses of Moderna’s vaccine could yield an “identical immune response” as a full dose in patients between 18 and 55 years old.
Any change to the recommended dosing would need to be approved by the FDA.
The U.S. government had set a goal of inoculating 20 million Americans by the end of 2020, but so far, just 4 million have gotten the shot. Several government officials appeared on political talk shows last weekend attempting to explain this disparity and the behind-the-scenes work going on between the federal government and states to ramp up distribution.
Read the Politico report.
