NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Researchers continue to study COVID-19 and have discovered that one dose of the coronavirus vaccine is perhaps as good as two for people who were previously infected.
Health officials say this could help speed up the vaccination process. More than 30 million Americans are known to have had COVID-19, that could be up to 15 million Pfizer or Moderna shots that could go to other people.
Researchers found people who recovered from COVID-19 get as strong an immune response from just one dose of coronavirus vaccine as the general population gets after two doses.
The research team monitored antibody levels of more than a thousand healthcare workers who had been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. Their finding lends support to earlier research that indicates vaccination boosts the effect of the immune response to natural infection.
Dr. James Hildreth, the President of Meharry Medical College, told Business Insider that those who've been infected and recovered, they'll only need one shot, which will make the vaccine go even further.
Right now, most health departments are encouraging people if they receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine to get the two doses. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine already requires only one dose.
