If you're one of the approximately 6,500-plus people in the Rockford area who'd planned on getting the second dose of the COVID vaccine from Moderna this week, you can keep your sleeve rolled down.

In an announcement posted yesterday, the Winnebago County Health Department says that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines they were expecting this week for our 3 local hospitals have been subjected to a delay, forcing the cancellation of appointments that had been made previously for the second shot.

If you had made your appointment at Mercyhealth, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, or at SwedishAmerican, you've probably already been notified of the change in schedule. If not, you should be contacted in the near-future about a rescheduling of your appointment when more vaccine becomes available.

Some people who have been contacted have been told that they'll get their second dose in about two weeks, which may cause concern as it would put the gap between vaccinations to 40 or more days. Others received notice from the WCHD that a shipment of 9000 doses would be used to cover the cancelled vaccinations.

Is that time interval a problem? Not according to Dr. Stephen Bartlett, VP and Chief Medical Officer at OSF Healthcare, Saint Anthony Medical Center.

MyStateline.com reports:

“We want to assure patients that receiving the second dose of the Moderna vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine up to the six-week mark of your first dose is perfectly ok,” said Dr. Stephen Bartlett, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center. “It does not make the vaccine less effective and you do not need to repeat your initial dose.”

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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