> U.S regulators authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer Inc (PFE.N)-BioNTech and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) on Friday for people with compromised immune systems who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens. [2]

> "It will be a patient's attestation, and there will be no requirement for proof or prescription or a recommendation from an individual's healthcare provider," CDC official Dr. Amanda Cohn said [2]

Clearly we are facing a supply shortage and distribution problem with the vaccines - and citizens of wealthier & more developed countries will fare better given the dynamics playing out. Perhaps that's just the status quo, not sure why I'm even surprised at this point.

For the poor and rural populations in less developing countries, we really need to be pursuing early treatment using combinations of existing and widely available medicines, which have been shown to be very effective at preventing hospitalization and death [3][4] - it's what many front line doctors are already doing anyway, just without the same level of press coverage that vaccines are getting.

[1] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/grim-warning-israel-...

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-fda-authorizes-...

[3] Pathophysiological Basis and Rationale for Early Outpatient Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(20)30673-2/fulltex...

[4] Multifaceted highly targeted sequential multidrug treatment of early ambulatory high-risk SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a...