Walgreens will begin scheduling doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine three weeks apart, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), following customer complaints.
The U.S. pharmacy chain has so far been setting the shots four weeks apart, one week more than recommended, because the extended schedule made the appointment faster and easier, The New York reported Monday Times.
Starting this weekend, Walgreens ’vaccine scheduling system will begin spacing the shots three weeks apart, maintaining the recommended four-week period for Moderna’s vaccine.
Walgreens chief medical officer Kevin Ban had previously said that separating the Modern and Pfizer vaccines in the same period of difference was “the easiest way to defend the process according to our capabilities at the time”.
Other major pharmacy chains, such as CVS and Rite Aid, had complied with CDC guidelines for separating vaccines, the Times notes, separating Pfizer shots between 20 and 23 days apart.
The newspaper reports that there is no evidence to suggest that an additional week will reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine, and the CDC has said it is okay to space the doses up to six weeks apart.
However, CDC spokeswoman Kate Grusich told the Times that Walgreens’ decision on programming still confused its customers and attracted the attention of federal health officials.
According to Walgreens, it has so far administered more than 8 million doses of coronavirus vaccine and expects to administer between 26 and 34 million doses by the end of August.