Some providers have been holding back second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure an adequate supply, a move that is causing some providers to cancel appointments and prevent some people from getting their first doses, CNBC reported.
Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser on President Joe Biden's coronavirus response team, told reporters Feb. 1 that healthcare providers shouldn't be holding back second doses, because it is slowing down the vaccination process, according to CNBC.
He said providers no longer need to hold back the doses because the U.S. is now giving states three weeks notice of how many vaccines they will be sent.
"With this action, states and vaccine providers will more rapidly use their allotment of first doses to vaccinate as many people as quickly and as equitably as possible, because they now have the predictability" that second shots will be on time, he said, according to CNBC.
Read the full article here.
More articles on pharmacy:
Execs from Cleveland Clinic, Baystate Health share challenges their vaccine programs are facing
Eli Lilly COVID-19 antibody drug reduces hospitalizations, death risk, trial shows
J&J says its COVID-19 vaccine is 66% effective