CDC Says Some People Can Wait Longer Between Covid Shots - BNN

(Bloomberg) -- Younger males and other healthy people under age 65 should consider waiting as long as eight weeks between their first and second doses of a messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccine, according to revised recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidelines, posted to the agency’s website on Tuesday, were spurred by increasing evidence that a longer interval between doses in the so-called primary series could heighten the shots’ effectiveness and reduce the potential for rare heart-related side effects seen most frequently in adolescent boys and younger men.“These additional considerations followed a thorough evaluation of the latest safety and effectiveness data,” CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said in an email. She said the new guidance is based on “evidence from hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccines that have already been safely administered in the United States.”Previously, the CDC recommended waiting three weeks between the first and second doses of the shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, and four weeks between doses of Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine. The agency still recommends that schedule for people 65 and older, those with compromised immune systems, and others who need rapid protection from the coronavirus.

The update is meant to help health-care providers determine the optimal time interval for individual patients, Nordlund said. For younger males, extending the window between doses could help lower the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis, heart conditions that have been linked to mRNA vaccines. The overall risk of those conditions is small, the CDC said.

Some countries have already recommended waiting longer between vaccine doses. At the end of 2020, U.K. health officials extended the recommended interval between doses of AstraZeneca Plc's vaccine — which is based on a different technology — from a maximum of four weeks to 12 weeks. The main reason for the change was to stretch supplies, but a statement also noted data indicating that it would lengthen coverage and modestly increase efficacy. A study from the University of Oxford later found the delay was associated with an enhanced immune response.

 The 65% of Americans that have already had their two shots on the previous schedule remain well-protected, Nordlund said, especially if they get a booster dose.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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CDC Says Some People Can Wait Longer Between Covid Shots - BNN
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