Richard Besser, who served as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under former President Barack Obama, said it is best for the United States to continue to focus on getting doses of Covid vaccine patients. -19 despite slow deployment.
On CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith,” Besser agreed with comments made earlier Monday by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. During a White House briefing on Covid-19, Fauci said staying up for two doses gives us the clearest way to protect people from the virus and its growing number of variants.
“I would go there with Dr. Fauci,” Besser said. “I’m concerned that if we go on a single-dose regimen, we could provide people with suboptimal levels of protection.”
Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved by the Food and Drug Administration based on the protection they provide after two doses, administered at separate times. Due to the slower-than-expected deployment of the vaccine, along with Covid-19 variants appearing across the country, some scientists have recommended the distribution of individual 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’s too early for states to start opening bars and restaurants to larger groups of people. He said that while evidence shows we can open schools safely, indoor social gatherings could lead to wider outbreaks “if we let the guard down.”