US Considers Halving Moderna Vaccine Doses...Desperate Measure Amid Vaccine Shortage (Comprehensive)

"Effective Even with Reduced Dosage...Clinical Data Available"
Vaccination Rates Hardly Increase...4.22 Million Vaccinated by the 2nd

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. health authorities are reportedly considering reducing the dosage of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to half of the current amount in order to increase the number of vaccinated individuals. This is interpreted as a last-resort measure to address supply shortages, following the UK health authorities' decision to extend the interval between the first and second doses. However, since there is little prior research or data on potential issues that may arise from suddenly changing the vaccination method, health experts are expected to voice considerable opposition.

On the 3rd (local time), Moncef Slaoui, the chief of the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed overseeing vaccine development and distribution, stated in an interview with CBS that "we are discussing with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Moderna about reducing the recommended COVID-19 vaccine dosage to half of the current amount." He explained, "In clinical trials of the Moderna vaccine for adults aged 18 to 55, individuals who received two doses of 50 micrograms (㎍) showed the same immune response as those who received two doses of 100㎍."

Slaoui also expressed a negative stance on the UK’s strategy of extending the vaccination interval. The UK health authorities announced on the 30th of last month, alongside the approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine, that the interval between the first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses would be extended from the existing 4 weeks to 12 weeks. Regarding this, Slaoui said, "There is insufficient data to evaluate the validity of the UK’s approach."

The reason U.S. health authorities are trying to increase the number of vaccinated people even by reducing the vaccine dosage is analyzed as a measure to maximize the sluggish vaccination performance. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of the previous day, 4,225,756 people in the U.S. had received the first dose of the vaccine. This is only one-fifth of the original target of 20 million people that U.S. health authorities aimed to achieve by the end of last year, and less than one-third of the 13,071,925 vaccine doses distributed to various regions so far.

While U.S. health experts sympathize with the urgency to increase vaccination rates, they unanimously agree that caution is needed when reducing the vaccine dosage. They point out that there is a significant lack of prior research and data to make a decision based on only one clinical result from Moderna. John Moore, a vaccine expert at Cornell University Medical College, told The New York Times (NYT), "Reducing the vaccine dosage by half will not be effective for all vaccines," adding, "Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is not something that should be done."