After consideration of the scientific data and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines that do not hold current FDA authorization, our infectious disease consultant, Dr. Chris Ohl, recommends revaccination with an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine in order to protect the Wake Forest Community against transmission of COVID-19. The minimum interval between the last dose of a non-FDA-authorized vaccine and an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine is 28 days.
After consideration of the scientific data and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines that do not hold current FDA authorization, Dr. Ohl recommended revaccination with an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine in order to protect the Wake Forest community against transmission of COVID-19. The reasoning was that other vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization in some settings have been less effective in preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 especially in the context of the delta variant. Our goal with the vaccine program was to 1) decrease the risk of serious illnesses and hospitalizations from COVID-19 as well as 2) decrease the incidence of symptomatic infections on campus. Decreasing symptomatic cases will decrease the public health measures such as quarantine, isolation, and contact tracing needed to manage COVID-19. This will allow the campus to operate in a more “normal” fashion in addition to increasing the safety of our campus.
According to the CDC, the minimum interval between the last dose of a non-FDA-authorized vaccine and an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine is 28 days. Dr. Ohl has assured us that the risk of adding another vaccine is no greater than the risk of the vaccine alone. There is some evidence that the combination may, in fact, provide better immunity than either vaccine alone.