Murphy Co-Signs Letter to Acting HHS Secretary

Washington, D.C. – A recent study found the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines appear highly effective. Some data even suggests that the longer the interval between first and second doses the more effective the overall vaccine regime is. With individuals still waiting for their first vaccine, this may enable more to be vaccinated sooner than later.

On Monday, March 2, 2021, Vice-Chair of the House Republican Doctors Caucus Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) joined Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) in sending a letter to Acting Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Norris Cochran, urging him to change HHS guidelines to reflect this new data by more widely administering first doses until all vulnerable and essential populations are inoculated before second doses are administered.

Murphy released the following statement:

"The recent data suggesting first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are highly effective is a significant medical finding," said Murphy. "If we use this data and make sure everyone from now on waits to get their second dose until everyone else is vaccinated, we would be practically doubling the number of vaccines we have at our disposal.

"We can inoculate every vulnerable person once before administering a second dose, which would help us achieve the goal of herd immunity just that much more quickly. I, along with my colleagues, urge acting Secretary Cochran to consider this evidence and alter dosage recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine. As viral mutations rise, we must do everything we can to get ahead of this virus and such an action will increase first dose vaccine administration immediately."

The text of the letter can be found here.