| In this week's edition of the Covid Q&A, we look at how shortages of the vaccine could affect people waiting for their second shot. In hopes of making this very confusing time just a little less so, each week Bloomberg Prognosis is picking one question sent in by readers and putting it to an expert in the field. This week's question comes to us from Chris in Mahopac, New York, who has received her first of two vaccination shots. With states reporting vaccine shortages, she's worried about what would happen if there aren't enough doses available for her to get her second shot at the recommended time. She asks:
Do I wait and get the second shot when it becomes available — even though it might be much later than it's supposed to be? Or do I start the whole process over again at a later date?
Many readers wrote in wondering the same thing. Both Covid-19 vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. require two doses. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines recommends waiting three weeks before receiving a second shot; the Moderna vaccine recommendations are to wait 28 days.
This past week, the CDC updated its recommendations on the interval between shots, saying a "second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible." If that's not feasible, though, the CDC says second doses can be given as much as six weeks after an initial dose. While there is limited data on shots given beyond the six-week window, the agency says that if the second dose is administered beyond that interval, "there is no need to restart the series."  A vial of the Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine. The second dose is recommended after 28 days. Photographer: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Bloomberg Tony Moody, an infectious-disease expert at Duke University, says that while waiting longer than six weeks for a second shot hasn't yet been studied for Covid-19, research on other vaccines suggests it's probably fine.
"We know that the timing between vaccinations is more about the minimum time between doses, not maximum," he says. "For other vaccines that require two doses, studies have shown that having a longer time between doses is OK."
Moody says trial data suggest that just one dose of the vaccine seems likely to offer some protection against the virus. "The thinking is if we can get more people to have a single shot, more people will have some protection," he says. "If we can get some protection for many people, that may help blunt the pandemic and reduce hospitalization rates."
In other words, public health officials are trying to make a limited stock of vaccine offer as much protection to as many people as possible. That may mean that some people will have to wait a little longer for their second shots.
Thanks to all of you for writing in this week! Next Sunday, we'll be answering the best question we receive again. So if you have any, we want to hear from you.
We'd also love to hear from you if you have concerns about Covid-19 vaccines. What are they? Submit your comments and queries via CovidQs@bloomberg.net--Kristen V. Brown | 
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