Both vaccine doses are essential for fighting variants, says Fauci

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Getting the recommended two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine is the best way to stay ahead of new mutant variants of the virus – and ultimately end the pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci said on Monday.

“We believe that the optimal approach would be to continue receiving as many people as possible for their first dose”, and that these people continue to receive their second dose on time, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Disease infectious, said during a White House briefing on Covid-19.

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The two Covid-19 vaccines available in the United States, from drugmakers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are about 95% effective when given in two doses, three to four weeks apart. These dose intervals have been studied in clinical trials with tens of thousands of participants.

But a slower-than-expected national rollout of the vaccine, coupled with the UK’s decision to delay second doses, has led some to question why the US is not changing its vaccination strategy from schedule to schedule. two more complicated doses to a regimen that is just trying to get as many first doses as possible in the American arms.

Experts say, however, that a single dose of the vaccine is unlikely to be enough to stop the pandemic.

“If you have a weaker immune response, which you get after that first dose, then you’re more likely to hurt this virus than to kill it,” said Dr Paul Offit, vaccine researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said said last week on a call with reporters.

If we don’t kill the virus, Offit said, it will still have the ability to mutate.

The boost in response to the second dose, Fauci said, results in a “greater magnitude of response,” meaning it can protect not only the circulating “wild type” coronavirus, but also against the variants. who are gaining a foothold in the United States.

Fauci said that while it is not unreasonable to consider investigating whether we could get away with a single dose, the virus is spreading and mutating faster than any research project could answer. question.

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In addition, the available vaccines appear to be effective against the variant first identified in the UK called B.1.1.7. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that this variant would become the predominant strain in the United States by March.

The United States has identified variants of the coronavirus in 699 cases across the United States, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said in Monday’s briefing. In all of these cases except nine, the British variant has been identified.

“I ask everyone to please keep the guard,” Walensky said. “The continued proliferation of variants remains of great concern and poses a threat that could reverse recent positive trends we are seeing.”

As of February 6, new cases of Covid-19 had fallen by nearly 20% compared to the previous week.

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