US Lawmaker Proposes "Single Dose" COVID Vaccine... FDA Maintains 'Two Doses' Policy

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] U.S. health officials have drawn a clear line against calls to allow COVID-19 vaccines to be administered only once.

On the 6th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that U.S. government scientists dismissed voices advocating for a single-dose vaccination, stating that "long-term preventive effects have not been proven." Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), emphasized, "To prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19, it is essential to use vaccines as authorized by the FDA."

Last year, the FDA approved the use of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which were developed to be administered twice. Recently, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which provides preventive effects with a single dose, was also authorized. However, some scientists and lawmakers argue that to speed up vaccination rates, all vaccines should be allowed to be administered only once. Their argument is that since a single dose provides a certain level of preventive effect, vaccinating as many people as possible should be prioritized.

In fact, a recent study in Israel showed that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine prevented COVID-19 symptoms by 85% for 15 to 28 days. The UK government also approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the end of last month and extended the interval between the first and second doses to up to 12 weeks to maximize the number of first-dose recipients.

On the 2nd, seven U.S. lawmakers who are physicians sent a letter to Norris Cochran, acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), urging consideration of authorizing a single dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. However, senior scientists from the FDA and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) told WSJ that it is difficult to accept such claims. This is because all the evidence referenced when authorizing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines involved two doses. They explained that while a single dose may provide short-term preventive effects, long-term effects have not been proven.

A scientist advising President Joe Biden emphasized, "If you try to administer only one dose without following the submitted research results to the FDA, you must prove that the resulting preventive effect is sustainable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.