In a statement that I didn't think needed to be made, the CDC is saying that the second dose of the COViD-19 vaccine should definitely be of the same brand of the first dose of the vaccine. For instance, if you receive the Pfizer vaccine as your first dose, you should definitely get the Pfizer vaccine as your second dose. However, the CDC has "quietly" changed their guidelines to say it is okay to mix and match the shots but ONLY in "exceptional situations".

However, the CDC is advising that "every effort should be made" to ensure that a patient receives the SAME brand of vaccine the second time around. An example of a rare or "exceptional situation", according to the CDC guidance, would be if supplies are limited or the patient doesn’t know which vaccine they originally received.

Emergency Medicine Physician at Texas Tech’s Health Science Center in El Paso, Edward Michelson tells KFOX 14 that while both vaccines work toward immunization of COVID-19, they both were created differently with different technology. When asked if it would still work if you mix brands Michaelson said: "Possibly, but because it hasn’t been tested there’s no recommendation or approval for doses between two different vaccines.”

As for how long to wait between doses, there's new guidance for that as well. The Pfizer vaccine usually requires a second dose three weeks after one receives the first dose. For the Moderna vaccine, there’s usually a four-week period between doses. According to the new guidance from the CDC- you can receive either shot up to 28 days apart.

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