Opinion: Instead of debating ‘first-shot’ vs. ‘set-aside’ vaccine approaches, hospitals’ study should compare them
The FDA authorizations of two Covid-19 vaccines so far specify two-shot regimens, spaced three weeks apart for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and four weeks apart for the Moderna vaccine. But because these vaccines will likely be in short supply for many months, some experts have proposed using available vaccine doses under a “first-shot” strategy: give as many people as possible their first dose of the vaccine and then deliver the second booster shot when supplies catch up.
The approach would be different from the current “set-aside” approach in the U.S., where one dose of booster is reserved in parallel with each first shot delivered.
