China News Service, February 24. According to the US Chinese website, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (22) released updated guidelines for vaccination against new coronary pneumonia.
For people over the age of 12 (especially young men), the CDC recommends extending the interval between the initial two doses to eight weeks.
Previously, the CDC recommended three weeks between doses for Pfizer's vaccine and four weeks for Moderna's vaccine.
The CDC still recommends that people who are immunocompromised and over 65 use the old interval schedule.
The CDC emphasized that the reason for extending the interval between doses is to reduce the risk of serious side effects, such as myocarditis or inflammation of the heart wall.
Given this risk, the CDC notes that for some populations, longer intervals between initial vaccines may be considered to reduce the risk of side effects.
"Although the risk of side effects remains small, the relative risk of myocarditis is higher among men 12-39 years of age. The population can reduce this risk by extending the interval between the first and second doses." The CDC said in its statement updated guidelines.
After completing the two initial doses of the vaccine, the recommendation for booster shots remains at least five months apart.
This standard has not changed from the previous recommendation.
Earlier this month, the CDC said it was considering extending the interval between initial doses.
Data they cited at the time showed that antibody responses were actually higher when the time between doses was longer.
Overall, however, the CDC believes that despite the potential side effects of the vaccine, the benefits of vaccination "far outweigh the risk of myocarditis."