With scheduling and shipment problems and bad weather delaying second doses of the COVID-19 vaccination, Rutgers scholar Reynold Panettieri is available to discuss the efficacy of the second dose if it is not administered exactly at the 21-day mark for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna.
“The concept of vaccinating 300 million people as fast as we can while we are developing the vaccines is like building an airplane while it’s taking off, but news like Merck helping Johnson & Johnson in manufacturing vaccines makes me optimistic that we will have more doses quickly,” says Panettieri, vice chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University.
“If there is a scheduling problem or if you are sick on the date of your booster dose, know that you have some wiggle room with the timing. You should lose no efficacy if you went even another week. People need to be cognizant that the second dose is important – you can’t skip it – but if you are patient, you will get the second dose.”
To interview Panettieri, contact Patti Verbanas at patti.verbanas@rutgers.edu or 848-932-0551.
