Vanderbilt professionals explain challenge of 2 doses COVID-19 vaccine

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    NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — Health professionals at Vanderbilt University Medical Center say they are ready for a vaccine. But a one dose has more advantages than two doses.

“Once ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices) has made a recommendation on a safe and effective vaccine, I’ll be rolling up my sleeve to get one,” Dr. David Aronoff, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said.

But a vaccine with two doses, such as Moderna and Pfizer’s, has its issues.

“There really isn’t a vaccine manufacturer who wants to be giving two doses of a vaccine,” Aronoff said.

Aronoff explains with each patient needing two vaccines. It will be expensive. It’s also hard to accomplish logistically.
“This is a challenge when you want to immunize essentially the world, and each person who receives one of a two-shot vaccine needs to be carefully tracked,” Aronoff said. “So, we know who’s had a shot, who hasn’t, when they are due for a second one.”

Aronoff explains if a company has 50 million doses of a vaccine and must be given twice; that’s only 25 million people that need to be immunized.

If a patient gets one shot, experts said there will be some immunity, but not the full effect.

“Clearly, a second immunization boosts that immunity to levels that are now being shown to be 90 to 94% or 95% effective at preventing reinfection,” Aronoff said.

Professionals said if someone has been infected with COVID-19 already, they aren’t sure if they need to be vaccinated since they weren’t part of vaccine trials. They say those patients may need immunization one year after infection. Right now, only 25 people internationally have been infected twice.

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