
Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hoge said the company is focused on the vaccine dosing data it has – and that data says two doses is what works.
He made the comments a day after Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told NBC’s Meet The Press that as many people as possible over the age of 65 should be given the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Osterholm said this to respond to a possible surge in the next six to 14 weeks caused by the coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom. Such a strategy could delay second shots of the vaccine.
When asked for his thoughts on this strategy, Hoge told Good Morning America:
“At this point, as a scientist and physician, I focus really on what the data says, and the data we have from our clinical trials shows that two doses is excellent, very good at protecting against Covid-19, and ultimately that’s the only regimen that we’ve really studied.”
Hoge said it’s possible that one dose would provide some benefit, “but we really just don’t have any data to prove that at this point.”
“As Moderna, we try to stick to the data and the science, what we have,” he continued, adding that public health officials have complicated choices to make about how to protect as many people as possible when there are limited vaccine supplies.
“Our responsibility as a company is to stick to the data and make as many doses as we can available,” Hoge said.