Experts in the News

Americans should get vaccinated as soon as possible and brace for another round of shots, said health policy fellow Peter Hotez. The two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will become three-dose vaccines, and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson will become a two-dose. “No matter how many doses you’re getting of a particular vaccine, add one because there’s going to be a booster to follow for that South African variant,” Hotez said.

On the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 diagnosis in the Houston-area, health policy fellow Peter Hotez discussed the status of the pandemic in Texas. Now is not the time for Texas to roll back COVID-19 restrictions, he said. "My preference would have been to wait until Texans are vaccinated, until June." Still, he said, the light at the end of the tunnel is near. "Don't despair. We are going to vaccinate our way out of this epidemic ... this summer we are going to be in a very good position."

"We’re all high-fiving ourselves because the numbers are going down, and I am saying that we are in the eye of the hurricane," said health policy fellow Peter Hotez of the coronavirus case count.

"You might say, 'We lost a week. What's the big deal?' But my worry is the stakes are high because of new variants now permeating the U.S," said health policy fellow Peter Hotez of Texas' winter storm, which slowed the state's COVID-19 vaccination rate.

What do the new coronavirus variants mean for vaccine efficacy? Fellow Peter Hotez discussed transmission, vaccines and a potential spring COVID-19 surge.