US Must Stick To 2-Shot Strategy For Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines: Top Expert

Dr Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks.

The United States must stick to a two-dose strategy for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, top US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told the Washington Post newspaper.

Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks.

He warned that shifting to a single-dose strategy for the vaccines could leave people less protected, enable variants to spread and possibly boost skepticism among Americans already hesitant to get the shots.

"There's risks on either side," Fauci was quoted as saying by the Washington Post in a report published late on Monday.

"We're telling people (two shots) is what you should do... and then we say, 'Oops, we changed our mind'?" Fauci said. "I think that would be a messaging challenge, to say the least."

He added that he spoke with UK health officials on Monday who have opted to delay second doses to maximize giving more people shots more quickly. Fauci said that strategy would not make sense in the United States.