@biobook Curious to hear your thoughts.
What I think is that you've given a good summary of the problem, and I can see arguing for either side. I don't have the medical expertise to give advice myself.
The poll response here is 50-50 for skipping or taking the second dose based on 4 responses. The New England Journal of Medicine had an opinion piece Delayed Second Dose versus Standard Regimen for Covid-19 Vaccination with a poll for their readers who are mostly in the medical field. The poll there was also close to 50-50, based allegedly on over 10,000 responses.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMclde2101987 So there's widespread uncertainty about whether one dose is a good idea.
The idea that covid recoverees may need only one dose is supported by the Mt Sinai group's finding that the side effects and antibody responses were so high in this group when given the first dose, and Dr Krammer's comment that one dose should be sufficient. User-friendly description of the research, together with the argument for two doses:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/health/have-you-had-covid-19-coronavirus.htmlhttps://nyulangone.org/news/patients-recovered-covid-19-may-require-just-one-dose-mrna-vaccineIf it were me, I would probably be going back and forth in my mind every few minutes. Not gonna do this again, one dose is enough.... Come on, don't be such a wuss, get the second dose.... Nah, I'll wait for the variant vaccine.... But I want to travel... I'd be vacillating until the day scheduled for the second vaccine, and then I'd probably give it a few more weeks, in the hope that the CDC would come out with a new guideline. The UK and Canada seem to have taken the approach that the second dose could be safely postponed till 12 weeks after the first, so maybe I'd hold out that long.
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/20/revisiting-the-uks-strategy-for-delaying-the-second-dose-of-the-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine/ Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt a few weeks ago addressed one vs two doses for those recovered from covid (IDK if he mentioned it more recently) and he seems to give credence to both sides:
starting 18:30
"You should get vaccinated even if you do have antibodies.... The current thinking is yes,
you should get two doses of the vaccine. But certainly I think everybody would agree that
at least one dose of the vaccine would definitely be appropriate and very helpful in people who had covid, even if they have antibodies still..."
Maybe one way to think about it would be to compare the worst-case scenarios with each choice, such as:
If you get two shots, you'll probably be uncomfortable another few days. May need yet a third vax for variants. And may still get covid, in which case you'll probably turn your anger on the CDC, Fauci, etc.
If you get one shot, you may not be able to travel as freely. May still get covid, in which case you'll probably turn your anger on yourself, and ask Why didn't I just get the second shot?
Which would be easier for you to deal with? People differ in how they feel about being in control themselves vs relying on someone else for decisions, so I think it's a personal decision. From the links above, you've clearly got experts in your corner, whichever choice you make.
On the other hand, if I had recovered from covid but not yet gotten vaccinated, I think I would opt for the one-and-done J&J vaccine, just to avoid having to face the 1 vs 2 decision posed by the mRNA vaccines.
I agree with your comment that the CDC moves slowly, but I would point out that it's not due to laziness or inefficiency. The CDC creates guidance for millions of people, and so has to consider more factors than involved in your personal decision. Ideally, they would compare those covid recoverees who have only one shot with those who take the standard two shots, and see the rate in which they get covid. But remember the clinical trial that asked this same question for those who had two shots vs placebo followed 40,000 people for three months. The rate of infection should be even lower in those who've had covid once, so getting a scientifically reliable result will take longer than anyone wants to wait.