[M T]

I also agree, and presumed that's what they'd do if there wasn't some critical aspect of the 3 and 4 week intervals before the 2nd dose.

But note, that with a fixed number of doses, this doesn't increase the number of people who get vaccinated, it only accelerates the schedule of first doses. You'd end December with 20M more people having had a first dose; By the end of January, 10M more people would have had first doses; (End of Feb. No additional people).    However, with the number of people dying daily, I'd say this is a safe bet to dampen R and save even more lives than those who get the first round early.

Month of distribution of first dose:
2nd dose in-hand plan:       20M in Dec; 30M in Jan; 50M in Feb
Prospective 2nd dose plan:  40M in Dec; 20M in Jan; 40M in Feb.

[M T]

I also agree, and presumed that's what they'd do if there wasn't some critical aspect of the 3 and 4 week intervals before the 2nd dose.

But note, that with a fixed number of doses, this doesn't increase the number of people who get vaccinated, it only accelerates the schedule of first doses. You'd end December with 20M more people having had a first dose; By the end of January, 10M more people would have had first doses; (End of Feb. No additional people).    However, with the number of people dying daily, I'd say this is a safe bet to dampen R and save even more lives than those who get the first round early.

Month of distribution of first dose:
2nd dose in-hand plan:       20M in Dec; 30M in Jan; 50M in Feb
Prospective 2nd dose plan:  40M in Dec; 20M in Jan; 40M in Feb.