Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris and other public health officials gave news media the latest information on COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama today.
They also fielded questions about the vaccines. “How long does it protect you?” a reporter asked Harris.
“The answer is we don’t know,” Harris said. “There was a statement put out by Moderna in the past couple of weeks in which they believe, based on the antibody production that they have scene and the maintenance of levels, that probably a year’s protection is reasonable, for sure, at a minimum. We don’t know if it’s going to be longer than that.
“I’ve not seen something similar with Pfizer. I think there’s good evidence that they last for several months because there have been phase 3 trials that started back in July or August. I’d say six months, certainly, we know that much. But we just don’t really know for sure.”
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are available in Alabama, although supply of the shots still falls well short of demand, a situation that Harris said will likely continue for some time. For now, Alabama is offering the shots to health care workers, nursing home residents, people age 75 and older, and first responders such as police and firefighters.
Related: How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama
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Harris was also asked about indications that the Moderna vaccine might be up to 80% effective at protecting people after a single dose. He was asked if health officials considered the possibility of trying to give as many people as possible a single dose rather than continue with the plans for two doses while supplies are still limited.
“We certainly have talked about that,” Harris said. “We want to see consensus guidance from public health nationally on how to do that. That’s a really big decision to make and we’re not going to make it alone here.
“These vaccines were studied as two-shot regimens. They went through an approval process, or at least an emergency authorization process, they were given the EUA (emergency use authorization) to use as a two-dose regimen. And so we just wouldn’t lightly consider on our own to cut that in half.
“That may happen if a vaccine shortage persists and we don’t get any products on the market. We may decide that twice as many people with pretty good protection is better than half that number with really good protection. It’s a balance. There are pros and cons to that.”
Harris said the two-dose regimens for both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear to highly effective.
“The two-shot regimen for Moderna and for Pfizer, for that matter, is more than 90% effective, in some populations, maybe 95% effective,” Harris said. “That’s about as good as we have with just about any vaccine. That’s in the range of what we get with measles vaccine, which is a terrific vaccine.”
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