Richard Besser, who served as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Barack Obama, said the US is better off continuing to focus on getting both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to patients. despite the slow rollout.
On CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith,” Besser agreed with comments made by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At a Covid-19 White House briefing, Fauci said that by staying on track for two doses is the clearest way for us to protect people from the virus and the growing number of variants.
“I was going to go here with Dr. Fauci,” Besser said. “I am concerned that if we move to a single dose regimen we may provide suboptimal protection for people.”
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved by the Food and Drug Administration based on the protection they provide after two doses administered at different times. Because of the slower-than-expected roll-out of the vaccine, along with the Covid-19 variants emerging across the country, some scientists have recommended the distribution of single vaccines to more people, rather than double doses to fewer patients.
Besser, who is now president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also said it is too early for states to open bars and restaurants to larger groups of people. He said that while evidence shows that we can open schools safely, indoor social gatherings could lead to wider outbreaks “if we drop our guard.”