Walgreens now says it will schedule appointments for the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks after administering the first dose.
The CDC recommended protocol for the Pfizer vaccine is 21 days, and 28 days for Moderna.
But because Walgreens is administering both the Pfizer and Moderna shots, the company scheduled all doses four weeks apart in order to simplify the scheduling process.
The delay caused some confusion among consumers, so Walgreens is now updating its process to three weeks for people receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
But health experts say that there is no reason for people to worry if there is a slight delay between the first and second shots.
"I don’t think that’s any problem whatsoever," said Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Tufts University and member of the FDA immunization advisory panel. "The window is three to four weeks depending on which vaccine, but if both are moved to four weeks I think that’s fine."
Health experts have said the three-week protocol is simply a guideline, but not a hard and fast rule.
"I wouldn’t want to go longer than 90 days, I think is the figure the CDC is recommending, three months," said Dr. Meissner. "But if it’s off by a week or two I think that’s of no concern."
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