The Trump administration is releasing a second dose of coronavirus vaccines that have been retained for booster vaccines and is calling on states to give the vaccine to anyone over 65 and people with pre-existing health conditions a shift from their previous guidelines to prioritizing doses for workers. in the field of health.
“First of all, we have already made each dose of vaccine available. So we retained the second dose as a safety stop, “said Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on Tuesday. “We now believe that our production is predictable enough to ensure that the second dose is available to people in continuous production. So everything is now available to our states and our health care providers. ”
Department of Health and Human Services officials are expected to provide details on the change later Tuesday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25.4 million doses of the vaccine were distributed, but only 8.9 million Americans received a shot.
Axios first reported the planned announcement.